Slain
by TwinSanity
Summary: Destroying vampires was a simple job for Tea. But that was before she met Yami and Yugi. Now she's more involved in vampires than ever, and a whole city could be destroyed if she makes the wrong decisions. Ch.14 up! Showdown-Tea vs. Yami!
1. A Day In The Life Of Tea Gardner

Tea lives in a world where vampires run rampant. She is one of many chosen to destroy them. By day she is your average teen hanging out with her secret admirer. But when night falls Tea becomes an acrobatic vampire slayer with abilities unlike any human. Her mission is simple: destroy as many vampires as possible while obtaining information about the secret realm where they retreat by day. But one such night she runs across a peculiar boy who is vampire by night but human by day and insists he wants to escape from the vampires' clutches. Intrigued by his story and determined to help him, Tea embarks on an adventure like none other to save the world from vampires. But she wasn't counting on some of the things she didn't know about vampires coming into play.

Rated for Violence, a smidgen of Language, some Death, several scary scenes, and some Blood... ewww...

(darkness)

(a flashlight clicks on, shining on Toli's face)

Toli: (creepy voice) Welcome, strangers. (turns on lights) Glad you could make it! This is a scary story, which means not a whole lot of happy. I happen to be a big fan of vampire stories. They're so scary! So I decided to make one. I know I haven't completed our first story, Home And Not Alone, but I can do two stories at once, right? Mena had a hand in this, although not much, since this is scary from beginning to end. Speaking of which, where _is _Mena?

Mena: (comes in) Right here. I just had to get my equipment. My garlic, my cross, my four-leaf clover...Y'know, can't ever be too safe!

Toli: O.o Um...Can we just do the disclaimer before your insanity rubs off on a reader?

Mena: Sure! We don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, wua ha ha ha ha ha!

Toli: You better stop that--I told you I have Charter on speed dial!

Mena: Oh yeah! And we don't own the concept of vampires, but we do own the unique ones in this story! And if this copies any story, movie, scene in a show or whatever, WE DIDN'T DO IT ON PURPOSE!!! And excuse us if there are any typos, our computer refuses to leave us in typo-free peace.

* * *

PROLOGUE: EXPLANATIONS

When a person thinks of a vampire, they usually think of one off of some movie or show about the mutant bloodsuckers, sleeping in coffins, turning other humans into vampires, and transforming into bats. In truth, there are vampires like that. But we're going to focus on some different vampires.

You see, there is a place called Earth. This place is a wonderful little planet where billions of people exist pretty normally. But among these people are creatures called vampires. They are evil creatures that live off of blood. They murder hundreds of people every night to feed themselves. Seeing this as a problem, groups of people specially trained to destroy such monsters were formed. They were simply called vampire slayers. Most of the time they destroyed vampires, but on occasion they would hold a few prisoner in order to get information as to where to find others.

I, Tea Gardner, was a part of one of said groups. I became so when both of my parents were killed by a vampire inside a dark movie theater, along with the rest of the crowd. Determined to avenge them, I became a part of the slayers. I was one of the best, driven by revenge and hatred for the creatures and their evil ways. As with all slayers, I could jump long and high distances, run up to 70 mph on a good day, and sense where vampires where for up to twenty miles. I used a gun specially created to destroy vampires, and occasionally a sword made likewise when the gun wasn't handy.

Of course, nobody knew about this except for a few close friends. By day I was simply a normal teen going to Domino High School who was semi-popular. I gave off no hint of my profession. But when the sun went down I would dress in black and go out to destroy vampires. Sometimes I would team up with other slayers and destroy tons of the monsters. Often I was a lone wolf.

But as much as the vampire slayers killed, the numbers of vampires didn't seem to decrease very much. Noticing this, many of the groups started investigating. They interrogated vampires and found out from smidgens of information that there was a completely separate realm where the vampires went when the sun came up, dismissing the theory that they go sleep in coffins. Thus it became the mission of the vampire slayers to discover how to get into this realm and destroy it so they could exterminate the vampire population and make it safer to walk the streets at night. I wanted to find this out most of all, because I still sought out the vampire that had murdered my parents.

In my quest to destroy the race of evil bloodsuckers, I began one of the most amazing adventures in my entire life. There are many things no one knows about vampires, and all of these things came into play. The vampires were determined not to be wiped out, and the vampire slayers were determined of the opposite. On what seemed like a normal night for me, became one of the greatest wars in the history of vampires and slayers, all because of one person.

And that is where the story will begin.

END PROLOGUE

Mena: T-That was g-great, Toli...

Toli: I wanted to start you off in the story, so I decided to go ahead and post the first chapter with this. I really hope you like it!

Mena: We'll see you at th-the end of the ch-chapter...

Note: There will be a little bit of OOC for some of the characters, namely Serenity and Tea, but don't sue us, okay?

4 ANY1 WHO CARES...Tea's regular outfit after dark is a black sleeveless shirt, a short black skirt, black boots that come up a little higher than her knees, black fingerless gloves that go up to her elbows, a trench coat like Seto's during Battle City (except it is black), a black choker and silver hoop earrings. We think it looks so cool!

* * *

ONE: A Day And Night In The Life Of Tea Gardner

The alarm clock went off. Tea's looked up and she hit the off button. She put her school shoes on and headed out the door. She hadn't been asleep anyway, so she only used the alarm clock to remind her when she needed to leave. Grabbing her backpack off the couch, she opened the door and left her aunt's apartment.

When she made it to school, Tea was greeted by her friends Joey Wheeler and his year-younger sister Serenity. "Hey, Tea," Joey said. "Glad you made it on time!"

Tea suppressed a laugh. "It _is _possible for me, you know," she said.

"The last week says othawise," Joey snorted.

Serenity slapped Joey on the arm. "Oh, cut her a break. You're often just as tardy, so you can't complain."

"What?" Joey cried innocently.

Serenity dropped her voice a little. "At least Tea has a valid excuse," she with a smile, making them all smile. "Speaking of which, how did you do last night?"

"I killed sixteen vampires last night," Tea said. "And get this. Three of them were in the middle of robbing a blood bank. Unfortunately, we're no closer than we were before to finding out about the S.V.H., if you know what I'm talking about."

Joey and Serenity nodded. "S.V.H." stood for "Secret Vampire Hideout", the secret realm that the vampire slayers were trying to find.

"So, d'you get breaks on the weekends?" Joey asked. "'Cause me and Serenity were goin' to hit the movies Saturday wit Tristan and we were wonderin'..."

Tea shook her head. "Sorry guys. I'll be spending most of Saturday asleep to catch up on what I've missed this week," she replied. "And when the sun goes down, I'll be going back to work. I told you it would be hard for me to catch any social events anymore. Remember what happened at Diana's sleepover?"

Serenity shivered. "I do," she said. "A vampire busted in through the window and tried to kill us all. Tea had to lure it outside and kill it there. I remember, because I was the bait!"

Tea nodded. "And then I had to chase down another one. I hate to say it, but I think helping get rid of a mortally dangerous race is more important than seeing a movie."

"Yeah, we know," Joey said.

Tea opened her locker to get her books and was surprised when a folded piece of paper fluttered out. "What's this?" she said, catching it in mid-air. She unfolded it. "It's a poem! 'Roses are red, Violets are blue, Sugar is sweet, and I think you are too. Daises are yellow, and some Girls are thin, I'd like to go out with you, signed, Duke Devlin. I'll pick you up Sunday at 7:00 PM.'"

"'Some girls are thin'? What kind of Romeo came up widdat one?" Joey asked in disbelief.

"I think it's sweet," Serenity said.

Tea folded the note back up. "Apparently Duke has already decided when he wants to go out with me. Too bad I've already got plans," she said. She balled the note up and tossed it in the nearest trash can.

"Well, that's settled!" Serenity said. The bell rang just then, and they split up to go to their separate classes.

AFTER SUNSET

Tea watched out the window as the last rays of the sun disappeared over the horizon and let the moon take over the sky. She pulled on her fingerless gloves and lifted the lid of the box in her dresser. Inside was her gun. She pulled it out and put it in its holster. Then she opened the closet and parted her wall of hanging clothes to grab her emergency weapon, a long thin sword inside a sheath, which she strapped onto her back. Opening the window, she climbed out and leapt across the air to the roof of the house next to the apartment complex. Then she leaped up to the business office's roof next to that and kept going. She was already tracking a vampire.

Running faster than any normal person could ever manage, Tea stopped at the edge of a skyscraper's roof and gazed down at the street below. With her enhanced eyesight, she saw a person being chased by a vampire. She jumped off the roof and plunged to the street nineteen stories below. When she finally reached it, she landed on her feet only a few yards away from the vampire she was tracking. She chased it down and shot it. Seconds later, its form turned into dust dropped to the ground in a little pile. The person kept running. Tea ignored him. She could already sense another vampire, about five miles away. She turned and ran down the street.

In all, Tea destroyed seventeen vampires that night without even breaking a sweat. Her endurance was something to be admired. She had leapt onto a high roof, prepared to head home, as the sun was starting to come up, when she noticed a figure on the roof, staring at the sun. She could sense it was a vampire and figured one more kill wouldn't hurt anyone.

Tea pointed her gun at the figure and was just about to pull the trigger when she heard a laugh. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," a deep voice said. The figure suddenly vanished into thin air, leaving behind a small wisp of black smoke. Tea sighed frustratedly but vowed to get him next time. She headed for home as the rising sun began to light the city.

ELSEWHERE

He watched her leap across the roofs to her destination. Yes, that was her. The famous girl who killed more vampires in one night than some slayers killed in a week. She was his mortal enemy. He knew he could have destroyed her then if he had wanted to, but there were more pressing matters. He needed to find his brother first.

"To think that she thought she was about to kill me," he said. He laughed, but without any humor. "As soon as I find my brother, I'm going to kill her instead. Maybe, with her dead, my people can actually survive a little while longer."

Red eyes glowed in the darkness. "But this wouldn't be such a problem if a certain some_one hadn't run away. I'll have to find him before he gets himself in trouble."_

some

END CHAPTER

* * *

Toli: So! How was that?

(Mena is huddled in a corner, clutching a blanket and trembling)

Mena: Happy thoughts...Happy thoughts...

Toli: -.-; It's not _that _scary yet.

Mena: Oh. (gets up and tosses blanket to the side)

Toli: We'll see you all next time!


	2. Runaway

**RESPONSES**

**ssp**--Thank you very much! Double identity crisises--or whatever--can really suck sometimes. We're glad you reviewed, and we hope you enjoy this chapter!

**dontmesswithYami**--Thank you so much! Muchas gracias and all that. Don't forget to review on your way out this time, okay?

* * *

Toli: Welcome back! Here's Chapter 2 of the scary story! (curls fingers like claws) Mwaaahaaa!

Mena: Um, I'm going to go get some coffee...

Toli: Yu-Gi-Oh is not mine! And no creature of the dark can change that.

* * *

TWO: Runaway

Tea watched as the dust that had once been a vampire scattered across the street. "That would make twenty," she said with satisfaction. "Two more and I'll have a new record." She leaped to the top of an abandoned building's roof to check out the area. To her right she could sense another vampire. She went that way.

In the park, a young couple staying out late was being attacked by a vampire. Tea arrived just as the bloodsucker was cornering them. She destroyed it in less than five seconds. The couple ran away.

"Some people are so stupid," Tea said. Suddenly the sense of a vampire being near flared up and then oddly died down. She whirled and saw a small figure behind her, leaning against a tree. She held out her gun and approached it slowly. Her senses were mixed. It radiated like a vampire, but for some reason, not like a full-fledged vampire.

"Get out here where I can see you," Tea ordered. She wasn't taking any chances, no matter how confusing this vampire seemed.

Very, slowly, the figure stood up straight and slowly left the shadow of the tree, coming into the slowly brightening light. It was a boy. He had blond bangs and black hair lined in red, and huge dark-colored eyes. He was wearing a dark shirt underneath a black jacket two sizes too big for him and dark pants. He looked utterly terrified, but his skin was solid white. Tea noticed that he had very small fangs hanging over his lower lip. That meant he was a vampire. She cocked her gun.

"Please don't kill me," the boy said in a trembling voice.

"Sorry," Tea said, "but you're too dangerous."

"I haven't killed anybody," the boy said.

"At least not yet," Tea replied. _Why am I arguing with this little vampire? I need to just kill him and get it over with._ But she wasn't sure why she was hesitating.

"Listen, I swear," the boy said, "I haven't killed anyone and I'm not going to. I don't even want to be a vampire."

That was new. Tea stared at him, and her finger loosened around the trigger. "Why should I believe you?" she asked.

"I'll stand right here until the sun comes up," the boy said.

"And what would that prove?" Tea demanded.

"If you'll wait, you'll see," the boy said.

Tea took a quick glance over her shoulder and saw that the sun had almost come up all the way. The sky was lightening. She kept her eye on the suspicious boy, prepared to shoot him if he tried anything.

The sun finally rose up all the way, and, amazingly, the boy's skin darkened slightly and his fangs disappeared. He sighed and leaned against the tree again, seemingly exhausted.

"What _are_ you?" Tea asked, amazed.

"I'm a runaway," the boy said. "My older brother is a vampire, and he's looking for me."

"That doesn't explain your turning into a human," Tea said.

The boy sighed yet again. "Well, you see, my father was a vampire, but my mother was a human. As a result, I'm both. I'm a vampire during the night, and a human during the day. I never wanted to be a vampire. My older brother was born before my father met my mother, so he's a full-fledged vampire and he can't look for me during the day. When it's night time I always have to hide. It hurts when the sun goes down. I don't eat blood, and as a result, I'm starved. That's why I'm so weak. But I'm determined not to kill anybody, even if it kills _me_. I just don't want that on my conscience."

Satisfied that the kid was harmless, and kind of blown over by his lengthy reply, Tea returned her gun to its holster. "I've never heard of any vampire that was half-human," she said.

"There's a reason for that," the boy said. "Anyone like me is not tolerated among vampires, so they either change you into a full-fledged vampire, or they kill you. Since they were so angry at my father for having a relationship with a human, they killed him and my mother. My brother didn't want me dead as well, so he would defend me and he took care of me. Now he wants me to let them change me into a complete vampire. But I don't want that, so I ran away. He's searching for me now."

"They can turn half-vampires into whole vampires?" Tea asked in disbelief.

The boy nodded. "There's a lot of things about vampires that no one knows. I only know about that."

"So, lemme ask this. If you're running away, where do you think you can go? I mean, being half-vampire, you could really frighten a lot of people," Tea said.

The boy nodded. "I know. What I'm hoping--and what probably won't happen while I'm alive--is that all of the vampires will be killed, because if they are, I can become a full-fledged human. I want that more than anything."

"Now how does _that _work?" Tea asked.

The boy looked ready to respond, but instead let out a moan and wrapped his arms around his stomach. "I'm really hungry. I need to eat." At Tea's look, he added, "Human food, I mean. I don't need blood when I'm in my human form."

Tea sighed loudly. "You obviously need help," she said. After a moment's deliberation, she said, "Tell you what. Why don't you come home with me. I can get you some food--_human _food--and watch your back for you until all the vampires are dead, or at least for a little while. But if I do this for you, you have to tell me everything you know about vampires and that secret hidey-hole realm of theirs."

The boy nodded. "I can do that."

Tea walked up to him and extended her hand. "Come on. I'll give you a piggyback ride back to my house." She helped the boy climb onto her back, and she leaped up onto the nearest roof, headed in the general direction of her aunt's apartment.

_"Where is he?" he wondered aloud, looking down at the empty street below him. He had tracked his brother down and cornered him as being somewhere in this city, but he couldn't get any closer than that. It was very aggravating. With a sigh, he looked up and noticed that the sun was coming up._

_He hissed. "Oh, _damn_," he growled. He would have to end his search now. "I'd better get back before I turn into a pile of nothing." He turned and exited in his normal way as the sun rose to light the human world and save the many survivors of vampires from destruction._

_For now, anyway._

END CHAPTER

* * *

Toli: Ah! Another completed chapter! It may not surprise you who the mystery half-vampire is.

Mena: What? Your cutie idol?

Toli: Yes! (sighs happily) I had to put him in soon. Oh I love him!

Mena: Will you just hurry up and scarify this story already?

Toli: We'll be doing that next time! See you then, okay?


	3. A Vamp In The House

**RESPONSES**

**Eve-Of-Misery--**Thank you very much. We're glad you like vampire fics; this one's a killer! At least we hope. Please enjoy the next installment!

**dontmesswithYami--**Yep, it's Yugi! Oh well, so much for that mystery. At least you like the story! Please continue to review!

**Kameeko and Kamoray--**Well, here's the update! Don't threaten anybody with Kamoray! Threats bring back baaad memories!

Toli: Hi! (sits at a table with a giant cement block over her hands) Sorry it took so long. We were working on our other story!

Mena: O.o What is that block for?

Toli: What do you _think_ it's for?

Mena: Ummm, blocked sinuses?

Toli: No! It's because I have Writer's Block!

Mena: Ohhh! Okay! I get it! So, what are you gonna do about it?

Toli: (exasperated) _YOU_ WRITE THE CHAPTER!!

Mena: _Ohhh_! Okay! I get that too! We don't own Yu-Gi-Oh but I have a flyer for this hot meeting rallying up a bunch of people who want to own Yu-Gi-Oh! I'm going after this chapter!

Toli: -.-;

* * *

**THREE: A Vamp In The House**

The bell rang. Twelve seconds later, Tea was the first one out the front double doors. Soon after came Serenity and Joey.

"Tea, wait!" Serenity called.

Tea slowed down enough that they could catch up with her.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Joey asked.

"I have to get home right away!" Tea said.

"Why?" Serenity asked.

"Not really time to explain! If you wanna know follow me home!" With that she sped up. Joey and Serenity followed as quickly as they could.

When Tea made it her apartment there was a note on the back of the door. **_Dear Tea, _**it read with hasty handwriting, **_I have emergency at my job and won't be back until 1:00 am. All the thing you need to make yourself dinner and snack is in the fridge. Love, Auntie. _**Tea snatched the note off the door and left the door open so Serenity and Joey could come in. She headed upstairs to her room in the attic. Her aunt's apartment was one of three with an attic.

Joey and Serenity finally made it inside the apartment. They were worn out. Serenity saw Tea going up the stairs, so she followed. Joey had to break on the couch.

Serenity made it to Tea's room and knocked on the cracked door. "Come on in," Tea invited.

Opening the door, Serenity was surprised to see some unfamiliar kid asleep in Tea's bed. Tea was sitting beside the bed in her desk chair.

"Tea, who's..." Serenity began.

"I don't know what his name is yet," Tea said. "But he needs my help. So I let him stay here. My aunt's gone so much, she won't even notice."

"Well, what...why...Tea, please _explain_," Serenity said.

"He's bispecies," Tea said.

"He's _what_?" Serenity demanded.

Tea sighed. She told Serenity the whole story the boy had given her, including seeing him turn to human in the light. When she was finished, Serenity looked astounded. "So you're telling me that he's half-vampire--or bispecies or whatever--and he's just going to stay here until you and the rest of the vampire killers destroy all the vampires so he can become completely human?" When Tea nodded, Serenity's puzzled expression deepened. "Do you know how _crazy_ that sounds?"

"So?" Tea said. "I saw the proof. Besides, who wants to become a vampire when you don't have to be?"

Serenity sighed. "Well, how do you know he won't go psycho one night and kill somebody?" she asked. "I mean, even though he _says _he doesn't want to kill, who knows how irrepressible the urge to drink blood is when you're a vampire?"

"Well, until he gives me reason otherwise, I'm keeping him," Tea said firmly. "And anyways, in exchange for me taking care of him, he's going to give me information about vampires and the S.V.H., so it benefits us both."

Serenity sighed and eyed the kid. He did look pretty harmless, at least while he was asleep. "Okay," she agreed. "Besides, you are a certified vampire killer, so he couldn't do but so much with you watching him."

Suddenly, the kid awoke, and Serenity's fear kicked in anyway. She stepped behind the door and watched, half in fear, half in awe. The kid opened large, bright amethyst eyes. Serenity had never seen anyone with purple eyes before. She guessed that it was a vampire thing.

Tea turned to him. "You're awake," she said as if just talking to any boy. "Have you been asleep all this time?"

The boy nodded slightly. "Well, at least until after you gave me those, um, whatever you call those things you gave me."

"Waffles," Tea said with a smile.

"--Yeah, 'waffles'. I was kind of tired. I rarely get to sleep for several hours straight," the boy said. He suddenly noticed Serenity. "Who is that behind the door?"

Tea turned and noticed what Serenity had done. "Will you get from behind that door!" she exclaimed. "I told you, he's harmless. Especially during the day."

Serenity came back into the room. "Hi," she said shyly, raising one hand for a split second in a pathetic wave.

"Hi," the boy answered.

"Serenity, be a little nicer!" Tea said, kind of annoyed.

"I can't help it! He's a vampire!" Serenity said, backing away a step.

Tea sighed loudly as the boy lowered his eyes to his lap. "Will you _stop _it with that?" she demanded. "You aren't making things any better. And he's _not_ a full-fledged vampire, he's only _half_-vampire."

Serenity looked at the ground. "Sorry," she said. "It's just kind of hard to get out of my mind."

"I understand," the boy said suddenly. "I'm used to this happening a lot. It's not a big deal...I'm used to it."

Tea stood up. "Don't worry about it. Serenity is just acting birdbrained. _Aren't _you?"

"Uh, yeah," Serenity said. "I just need a little time to get used to it. Vampires are supposed to be something I fear, so..."

"That's okay," the boy said. "By the way, um, I'm kind of hungry again."

"Okay. let's go have something to eat," Tea said. She took his hand and helped him get out of bed. He was still wearing his tank top and pants, which were both two completely different shades of blue, but his black boots were in the corner underneath the jacket hanging over a stool.

"I'd better go downstairs and tell Joey, too," Serenity said. "He's probably watching TV by now."

AFTER SUNSET

"I'm headed out, then," Tea said. "Do you think you guys can manage without me?"

"Don't give us that," Serenity said. "We are perfectly capable of functioning without you."

"Last week says otherwise," Tea said with a bigger smile.

Serenity snorted. "Just go out and shoot your vampires," she said.

Tea nodded and left through the window. Serenity and Joey watched her leap to the next roof and head off. It was amazing how different she looked when wearing all black and toting weapons.

"So, let's see what's on TV!" Joey said. He flopped on the couch, next to the boy, and turned on the TV. Then he began channel surfing.

Serenity rolled her eyes. "Is TV all you think about?" she asked rhetorically.

"No. I think about food," Joey and. "And you!" he continued channel surfing.

_Why'd he say food before me? _Serenity wondered as she narrowed her eyes at the back of his head. _Speaking of heads... _Her eyes traveled to the back of the vamp-kid's head. _He has a really strange hairstyle. _Letting it pass as some weird vampire fad, she went into the kitchen to get herself something to eat. Behind her she heard, "Dude, you really oughta think about trimmin' those fangs!" She shivered. Of course. The kid would be a vampire now that the sun had gone down. How could Joey possibly joke with him now? What if he went back on his word and killed her and her brother and sucked out their blood and left them in a dead heap on the floor and ran back to his vampire tribe and--

"Hey, Serenity!" Joey bellowed, startling her. "What!" she snapped.

Joey had flipped over and was resting his chin on the back of the couch. "Get us somethin' to eat, too?" he asked.

"Sure," Serenity said. "What?"

Joey thought. "Um, get me a soda and a coupla apples--in fact, bring da whole fruit basket out here, wouldja?"

Serenity sighed. "You are such a pig," she said as she grabbed the full fruit bowl and carried it to the living room. She walked around the sofa on the kid's side, and hesitated when she saw his face. It was solid white, and she saw unmistakable little fangs hanging over his lip. He was staring at the TV, which was currently tuned to an infomercial boasting an "amazing" type of pan spray.

Serenity set the fruit bowl on the table. "Here's your order," she said, raising herself up quickly. She leaned against the wall and watched the vamp-kid.

Joey grabbed an apple and a pear and took big bites out of both. "Why don't you hev some?" he said around the fruit to the kid. "It might help yer stomach feel bett'r."

Hesitating, the boy carefully selected a pear from the bowl, as if afraid all of the fruits were poisoned. He stared at it for a few seconds, and then stuck the wide part into his mouth and bit the whole thing off, leaving only the narrow part in his white hand. Serenity shivered as he swallowed it whole.

"Hey, I used to eat like that too!" Joey said happily. He grabbed a pear and tried biting off the entire wide part, but could only get half of it. "Uh well, I tried," he mumbled through his full mouth.

The vamp-kid was staring at Joey like he was an item on display. Serenity shivered again. Was it her imagination, or were that kid's eyes fixed no Joey's neck instead of his face?

She knew it would be a long while before she got used to him.

* * *

**END CHAPTER**

Toli: Great job, Mena! (struggles to get her hands out from under the cement block)

Mena: Why, thank you. (bows) I had no idea I could write so almost like you.

Toli: Well, now that you're done, help me get this block off my hands!

Mena: Okay, I'll-- (looks at watch) Uh oh! The meeting's starting in five minutes! Sorry, Toli, but I'll help when I come back! (dashes through exit door)

Toli: Wait! You can't just leave me here! Mena! Come _back_! Me-_naaa_! _MEEEEEENAAAAAAAAAAA_!!

Bispecies: a creature that has two parents of different species, i.e., Yugi had a vampire father and a human mother, making him half-vampire and half-human, or bispecies. Only humans use that term, and very infrequently, for cases like Yugi's are incredibly rare.


	4. Big Brother

**RESPONSES by Toli**

**Eve-Of-Misery**--No, don't bite him, Yugi! We need him! Oh well, can't control the vamps. Thank you very much for your encouraging review, and we hope you will continue to read and review my creepy little story.

**Kameeko** and Kamoray--Good, then I'll update, and you'll forget about threats. Great plan! Thanks for the review and hope you enjoy the next chapter!

**dontmesswithYami**--Awww, thanks! Yes, I gave it away. It wasn't really a big secret or anything...I mean, it's not like somebody's going to think "Oh it must be a young Solomon"...anyway. Thank you so much for your nice review and please continue to give them to me!

**Kittens Have Claws**--It's no problem! I'm just glad you decided to join us! Thank you so much for all the nice comments. I appreciate muchly! I know how you feel about the computer hate...mine makes a regula habit of deleting my stuff just to piss me off...I'm glad you're going to read faithfully and hope you'll review as much as you can. I promise I'll read and review something of yours just as soon as I discipline my naughty PC...meh...

* * *

Mena: Hey, Toli! Guess what! Me and the other people had a meeting for how to get Yu-Gi-Oh! You should have been there!

Toli: (death glare) Maybe I would've come, if I didn't have _A GIANT CEMENT BLOCK ON MY HANDS_!!!

Mena: O.O; Oh. Right. I thought I'd forgotten something!

Toli: Yeah, _me_! Now help!

Mena: (helps shove off block)

Toli: Thank goodness! (shakes hands and flexes fingers) Now, I can get back to writing!

Mena: Until the other meeting-goers and I put our plan into action, we don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

**FOUR: Big Brother**

_(Our little vamp-boy's P.O.V.)_

The next night Joey and Serenity came over to keep house and watch me while Tea went out to kill vampires. Only a little part of me stirred up protest, but I always ignored it. Just like I ignored my increasingly painful craving for blood. I could tell Serenity was still afraid of me--she didn't even have to say it; her actions screamed the fact--but Joey seemed to like me well enough. We would watch TV together. TV is a funny thing; why would anyone want to watch a made-up life story? The fascination of it, and the horror of missing an "episode" amused me to no end. I watched anyway with Joey, and the ideas that humans concocted _were _pretty interesting, even if made up.

"See? I told ya frozen dinners are da bomb," Joey told me as he ate like he was starving. I stared down at the plastic sectioned plate in my lap, which had three different kinds of food on it. I had tried all three; they were good, but they were doing only minimal benefits to satiate my hunger. I also wondered why they were called frozen when they were hot.

"Joey, I know you can control yourself better than that," Serenity said over her own frozen dinner. She was sitting next to Joey, who was in the middle. I noticed her eye twitched whenever she looked over at me. I wished I could tell her something that would make her less afraid of me.

Something made a ringing noise. I looked up in surprise.

"Dat's da phone," Joey told me. "It rings when somebody's callin' hea. I'll get it!" He practically threw his hot frozen dinner onto the low table in front of us and went to something hanging off the wall. He took part of it off and put it to his ear. "Hello?...Aw, Ma, we're fine, we're just housesittin' for Tea...right next door, rememba? We're spendin' da night, did ya forget dat too?...We'll come back a little bit afta school tomorra. Okay Ma?... A'right...seeya." He put the piece back with the rest of the "phone". He plunked down between us again an resumed wolfing down his food.

"Was that Mom?" Serenity asked.

Joey nodded, "Just wanted...to see...where we are," he said between bites of food. I looked down at my own food and ate another one of those, those...darn, _what_ do you call those? The little balls of meat with semi-crunchy exteriors. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Serenity watching me apprehensively.

"Joey, what do you call these?" I asked, ignoring her stare as I picked up my last of the meat balls things.

"Oh, dem?" Joey said around another mouthful of food. "They're called chicken nuggets. Real tasty."

I stared at the "chicken nugget". "That's a peculiar name," I said.

"Peculia name, delicious food!" Joey said before he wolfed down a bite of all three kinds of his food at once. He suddenly started to choke.

"Joey!" Serenity scolded. "That's what happens when you inhale your food without even swallowing it!"

Joey managed to clear his throat and got up for a drink of water. I watched him go and couldn't help but smile. He was so weird. But he was so nice. I was glad he was nice to me. Now Serenity...

I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. She was staring at the food on her plate as she slowly ate it. I wished Serenity would give me more of a chance. I mean, I know she's scared of me because I'm bispecies, but I already made it clear that I wasn't going to hurt anybody. Did she think I was lying?

Supressing a sigh, I turned back around to face the television and sat down. Joey came back with a glass half full of water. He drank all the rest before he even sat down. "Thea. Much betta," he said as he picked up his food and resumed devouring it. Serenity shook her head.

Suddenly I could sense someone behind me. Before I could turn around to see what it was, the couch tipped forwards suddenly, throwing us all to the floor. It was slammed back into place. All three of us looked up to see who was the culprit, and my mind numbed when I saw who it was. A dark figure in dark clothing and a dark cape.

My brother!

Serenity saw him and let out a terrified scream. From below I heard pounding on the floor, and someone below us yelled, "Turn that racket down!"

Joey was the first one to stand up. "I dunno who you are, pal, but you got no right comin' in here and makin' noise!" His fists were up. He obviously had no idea who he was dealing with, but I did.

My brother let out a humorless chuckle. "Do you honestly think you are frightening me?" he said in his scary, deep voice. In a flash he had grabbed Joey around the neck with one hand and hoisted him inches into the air. Serenity was still screaming, and I was frozen in fear. Before either one of us could do anything else, he had effortlessly tossed Joey to the side. Joey slammed against the wall and fell to the ground.

Serenity was screaming even louder now. She hadn't got up, and scrambled back when my brother approached us. I had finally stood up, and was backing away as well. I finally yanked Serenity up and she backed up with me.

The TV cast only a little light on my brother's face, but you could clearly see his long fangs and his red eyes. Even with a white face, he was still the scariest thing you could lay eyes on, especially if you were his next victim. And especially if he had the evil smile on his face that he had then.

Finally Serenity and I were up against the wall. Serenity had stopped screaming, but she was crying.

"For my sanity's sake, shut up, you pathetic human," my brother said. He grabbed her shoulder and tossed her to the side as well. She hit the wall and was knocked unconscious.

It was now only my brother and I. "So, this is where you've been hiding," my brother said. "Did you honestly think I would never find you? Were you hoping to wait until that silly myth about you becoming human when vampires no longer existed came true? Whatever your reason, you have no excuse now."

"I'm not going back," I said bravely. "I mean it. You can't make me!"

"Please," my brother scoffed. "You can't survive without us. I don't know what you were hoping to gain by taking up residence with inferior humans, but it won't do you any good. I know that you need to eat. Why do you keep putting it off? Eventually you'll give in, and you know it."

"No I won't," I said firmly, even though I could feel the pain. "I'm never going to murder anybody just to satisfy myself. I'd rather die of starvation than go back on my word."

"It isn't murder," my brother said. "It's simply feeding ourselves. Humans do it too. Where do you think they get the _meat_ that they eat? Like those 'chicken nuggets' you were so enthralled with?" I could practically hear him smirking. "We're higher up on the food chain than they are, just like they're higher up than the animals they eat. There's no reason you should worry so much about feeding off of them."

'It isn't right!" I cut in. "Humans have feelings, and opinions, and intelligence. The animals they eat don't. There's a really big difference!"

"Enough," my brother said. "Stop trying to stall. You need us and you know it. If you keep running away all you'll be is a monster. If you would only come back with me we can change that. Why would want to stay as you are any more? Neither side would accept you like this."

I bristled. I was thinking of Serenity and her fear. It was true; most people would definitely be afraid of me like this. But then I thought about Tea and Joey. They accepted me as I was. Maybe there were more like them. I couldn't just give up after trying so hard to get away; I just couldn't!

"No!" I yelled forcefully. "I do _not _want to be a vampire!"

"And you aren't going to make him."

Both my brother and I turned. In the small light given off by the TV, I saw Tea, gun pointed at my brother. "Did you think I wasn't going to find you in my own _home_?" she said.

My brother whirled to face me, angry. "You've taken up residence with a _vampire slayer_!?" he yelled at me. "And her, the worst of them all? You must be indeed crazy. That or hungry." He smirked at those words. I scowled, and Tea scowled worse. "Don't expect that you've seen the last of me; I will be back, and when I am, you _will _be coming with me." Then he disappeared and left a wisp of smoke in his place.

I put my back against the wall and slid to the floor as Tea checked on her friends. I could feel tears coming. Would he _never _leave me alone?

"Are you all right?" Tea was now standing over me. I nodded. "That was your brother, huh?"

I nodded again. "His name's Yami. He really wants me to go back with him so he can change me into a full-fledged vampire. I had hoped he'd never find me, but I guess he was a lot closer than I had thought. I'm so sorry, Tea, if I hadn't been here he wouldn't have hurt your friends to get to me."

"Don't worry; they're both okay, just a little knocked around. If your brother threw them against the wall, they should just have headaches when they wake up," Tea said. She helped me to my feet. "By the way, while we're on the subject of names, what's yours? You never told me."

I sighed and looked at her friends' forms. If she said they were okay, maybe they were. I just hoped something like this wouldn't happen again. "My name is Yugi," I told her.

**END CHAPTER**

Toli: Chapter's done! So now you know for sure who everybody is.

Mena: Yami's a villain! Ehehehehheehehehee!

Toli: O.o; Yeah. Okay, moving on...I guess we should be heading out now!

Mena: Yeah, let's go!

Toli:But before you head off, I have a question for you. Should I do more chapters in other people's points of view, or should this be the last time? Tell me in a review!See you!

* * *

**Slain Trivia (O.o;)**

A vampire slayer's special vampire-hunting abilities is administered with magic by a group leader the first time they are enlisted in said slayer group. This is the complete list of vampire-hunting special abilities: enhanced eyesight (to see through the dark like vampires can and see farther then the human eye); incredible running speed (to keep up with the fast-running vampires); vampire senses (to know where a vampire is within a radius of twenty miles); incredible jumping abilities (to catch the high- and far-jumping vampires; jumps can reach ten miles high in the most skilled slayers).


	5. Encounter On The Roof

**RESPONSES**

**Kameeko **and Kamoray

Toli: Hey, guys!

Mena: Are you really enjoying the story that much? (worried) It's not because the thought of Yami being a villain is so unusual, is it? I mean, do you _want_ that?

Toli: Don't worry, Mena, they just probably like the story. Please enjoy the next installment!

**dontmesswithYami**

Toli: Yes! You love it!

Mena: I'll make sure Toli doesn't mess with Yami...too much. Isn't Yami being a villain the totally weirdest thing?

Toli: Believe it or not, I actually had someone else who was going to be the villain (not saying who) but when I saw the episode where Yami released the seal of Orichalcos, I thought, "He totally looks so evil!" And then I decided right there to change the villain to Yami!

Mena: Yeah, she even said it out loud. Like the part when Raphael goes "So, Pharaoh, how do you feel?" and you're looking at Yami, Toli saw it for a split second and said "He looks like the perfect villain." Creepy, no? Anyway, enjoy the chap and thanks for your vote!

**Masami, Mistress Of Fire**

Mena: Masami! Damie-chan! You've joined us here!

Toli: Mena, did you just say "Damie-chan"?

Mena: (dreamily) Well, Damion-chan just doesn't sound right. But Damie-chan sounds much better... (stops and realizes what she's saying, then hides behind Toli to hide her glowing blush)

Toli: I knew it would come out eventually. I _knew_ you two were flirting in the author's notes of Home And Not Alone!

Mena: (through Toli's shirtsleeve) Were not.

Toli: Yeah, yeah. Why don't you two lovebirds go on a cyberdinnerdate or something before you fill these responses with so much love they spill into the story and ruin the horror?

Mena: (through Toli's shirtsleeve) YOU HAVE NO PROOF OF ANYTHING!!

Toli: (rolls eyes) Exhibit A is hiding in my shirt, and I'm sure Exhibit B is hiding in Masami's head. Anyway, you are so nice! (smiles happily) We're happy to have a familiar face here; tackling the newcomers is scary because you're always expecting a flame! But so far, so good! Thanks again for joining us here!

000

(Mena is sitting at a table with a cement block on her head)

Toli: Why do _you_ have Writer's Block? You aren't writing!

Mena: Remember? I was supposed to write Chapter 6, but I'm totally braindrained! And Writer's Block hurts my head!

Toli: Well, this is #5, so you've got some time to think about it.

Mena: Oh, good. (heads falls to the table under the weight of the second block)

(Note: It gets a little angsty in the middle of this chapter. Sorry. Angst and horror seem to be bosom buddies, and I simply can't tear them apart. They throw tantrums when you try.)

000

**FIVE: Encounter On The Roof**

**(At School)**

Tea, Serenity and Joey sat at a lunch table together, a little bit away from the rest of the highschoolers so they could discuss vampire things in private. A few tables away, Duke Devlin sat at a table surrounded by lovesick girls. He was watching Tea, and had been doing so every day at school since he had given her his little poem.

"So, dis Yami fella, he's afta Yugi," Joey said after swallowing a giant bite of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "Am I right?"

Tea nodded.

"An' he wants to snag da little guy so's he can bring 'im back to da S.V.H. and make 'im into a whole vampire?" Joey went on.

"Yes, that's what I gathered from Yugi," Tea said.

Serenity shivered as she picked over the inedible lunch food on her tray, not saying anything.

"But what I wanna know is, why?" Joey asked, pausing as he raised his sandwich to his mouth. "What's da importance? Why's dis Yami-vamp gotta try an' force his little brother if dat ain't what Yugi wants?"

Tea shrugged. "I honestly don't know, Joey. Maybe it's a pride thing, maybe it's a family thing, maybe this Yami is just really evil and won't let Yugi have any freedom. Either way, he's dangerous, and as long as he's after Yugi--"

"It's not safe to keep him," Serenity unexpectedly finished for Tea. She looked up from her food, noticing Tea's and Joey's surprised looks. "It's true," she insisted, turning earnest hazel eyes to Tea. "If Yami wants Yugi that badly, he'll come back for him again, probably tonight. And I don't know about you, Joey," she added, glancing over at her brother, "but I don't want to be tossed into a wall again. My head is still ringing from it."

Tea nodded understandingly. "But now that I know that someone is actually after Yugi, I can't just turn him out onto the street. Like it or not, Serenity, when I decided to bring Yugi back to my house, I had no strings attached. There was no 'only if your older brother doesn't come after you' conditions. I'm not just going to abandon him now."

Serenity put her fork down. For a normal person, they would have slammed it, but Serenity couldn't slam anything successfully. "Tea, think of the danger you're putting yourself in. There's some evil--and most likely rabid--vampire out there, with enough strength to pick up my rapidly-gaining-weight brother by the neck and lift him off the ground without straining, and the one thing he's after is under _your_ roof! Do you realize what could happen to you?"

Tea watched Serenity. "I put myself through the same amount of danger every night," she said. "I'm a slayer, Serenity; what kind of danger do you think I'd be in if that guy comes after me in my own _house_?"

Serenity still looked incredibly unconvinced. Joey put a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, sis; Tea knows what she's doin'. She's a smart cookie, and no lame-o vamp could eva get da best of 'er. You an' I both know dat. Tea's makin' a practiced decision hea, and she ain't gonna do nothin' she isn't perfectly comfortable with."

"All he said is true," Tea said. She smiled at Joey. "Thank you for the infomercial." Joey blushed. "Seriously, Serenity," she continued, turning back to the unhappy redhead, "it's gonna be okay."

Serenity sighed. "You keep saying that, Tea, but one of these days I know you're going to get yourself hurt taking all these big risks. You're my best friend, and we've been close for almost all eternity. It would kill me if anything happened to you."

"I know you feel that way," Tea said, reaching over and patting Serenity's hand. "Don't worry. I've got this under control. I promise."

Serenity shivered again but said nothing, despite the thousands of protests rising to the surface of her mind. But what if Tea _didn't_ have it under control? What if she was jumping into something really dangerous and she didn't realize it? And how could she trust this bispecies kid anyway? They'd just learned his name yesterday. How did they know he wasn't secretly in league with that evil Yami? How did any of them know what they were getting themselves into?

They didn't.

And that was the whole problem.

000

_Yugi stared up at the ceiling. He was strapped down to a table. He had been kidnapped from Tea's home and dragged back home to be transformed. Somewhere along the line, he had been knocked unconscious, and the transforming had occurred while he was passed out. He could feel something primal rising up, screaming orders at him, but he fought to keep it under control. Not now. Not after all he had done._

_The dim lights overheard were blocked by the head and hair of his brother as he leaned over Yugi's face. "So, how do you feel?" he asked, with a particularly evil glint in his eyes._

_"I feel..." Yugi began, not sure how to answer. Then, the evil suddenly inside of him took control, and he could feel the urge to kill rising inside of him. It couldn't be stopped now._

_Yugi smiled evilly, to match Yami's. "I feel like eating."_

Yugi's eyes flew open, and he shot into a sitting position. "No!" he cried. He wrapped his arms around himself, hoping to be able to fight the feeling, the urge to murder.

It wasn't there.

Yugi kept his eyes shut tight and refused to look. The silence greeted him. Finally he peeked open an eye and found himself in Tea's room, sitting upright in Tea's bed. An old T-shirt of Tea's served as his nightclothes.

"It was only a dream," Yugi said. Then the words he had spoken finally began to sink in. "It's a dream. It's only a dream. I was not transformed into a complete vampire." _A complete monster is more like it, _he thought with a miserable smile. He then noticed the sun shining through her window and glanced over at the mirror propped up behind her desk. A scared face with huge purple eyes and no fangs glanced back. Yugi sighed with relief. Good. He was human now. He wouldn't have to deal with that pain.

Swinging his legs out of the bed, Yugi let his feet dangle in the air as he recollected what had happened last night. Yami had shown up and told him to come back. He had resisted. Yami had insisted. Finally Tea returned and Yami left. He left with a promise. What had it been? _"Don't expect that you've seen the last of me; I will be back, and when I am, you **will** be coming with me." _Yugi shuddered at the thought. So Yami must be planning to come back another time. Would he force Yugi to come? Would he try? Would Tea show up in time to stop him?

Yugi put his feet on the floor and stood up. He changed out of Tea's T-shirt into his own blue pants and tank top. After doing so, he slowly walked to Tea's mirror and touched the surface. His reflection aped him. Was it possible for such a normal-looking reflection to hold so much pain? For such pretty eyes to hide such a wild storm of emotions? He only looked a little unhappy. In truth, he was angry, sad, disgusted, and more importantly, terrified. He closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see his own face. A lonely tear pushed from behind his eyelid and slid down his cheek. He caught himself almost wishing for his brother to be here, to hug him and tell him there was nothing wrong with him, like he always used to.

_What are you, crazy? _Yugi scolded himself as he shook his head hard, flinging the tear away. _You don't want to be near Yami. He's evil. And he's bad news for you. You have to move on._

_To what? _Yugi argued. _To people like Serenity, who will only be afraid of you because of the monster inside? To people like Tea, who are supposed to kill you? There's nothing to move on to or go back to. I'm stuck in the middle._

_No you aren't, _his mind argued back. _You're moving on to people like Joey, who like you despite the monster you possess. And people like **Tea**, who are willing to trust you and give you a chance. There are people out there who want to help you; you just have to be willing to try hard enough to find them._

Yugi opened his eyes again and looked in the mirror. His reflection stared back, and he saw the hope in his eyes because he could feel it in his heart.

Downstairs he faintly heard a door open and close. "Yugi? I'm back from school!" Tea called. "And I brought Joey with me!"

Yugi turned in the direction on the door. _There are people out there who want to help you; you just have to be willing to try hard enough to find them. _Well, he had found two. He pushed open the door and headed for the stairs.

000

That night Tea let Joey and Yugi keep her sword while she went out vampire hunting. Serenity didn't come over again because she was too afraid. But Joey refused to leave Yugi there alone. Tea was nervous and decided to come back a little early in case she was needed.

Tea met another vampire slayer, Mai, in front of a laundromat, and they went out together and killed twenty-four vampires. After they had killed the last one, which had been on her way to a sleepover, Tea said she had to leave and go home.

"Why?" Mai asked. "The sun won't be up for another hour. We've still got plenty of time to work."

"I have to get home because there's something important I need to take care of," Tea said.

Mai sighed. "All right, I'll let you off this time, but it had better be something important. Because if I ever find out you shirked work to hop to some silly girls' party or something like that--"

"Trust me; it is! And you won't!" Tea said as she leaped to the roof of a nearby building and started for the apartment complex. She was about three miles away when someone's scream and the sense of a nearby vampire stopped her. She jumped to the next roof and saw a figure nonchalantly toss a body over the edge like a used cigarette.

Tea pointed her gun. "You," she said.

The figure turned, and Tea saw a face and hair that looked a lot like Yugi's except more evil. Red eyes looked at her. "Yes, me," Yami said. "I was planning on visiting your house again, but I decided against it. I know how cautious you are and didn't want something slicing through my head the moment I entered."

"I'll give you one warning," Tea stated bluntly, ignoring Yami's version of small talk. "Stay away from Yugi. He wants nothing to do with you, and neither do I."

"You don't exactly understand," Yami said, crossing his arms. A wind kicked up and blew his cape and Tea's trench coat. "Yugi is supposed to be a full-fledged vampire. He would happily accept the fact if he didn't have those inferior human emotions. I simply need to speak with him. I should think _you _are the one who needs to stay away from him."

"I don't think so," Tea said. "Do you think I'd just stand idly by and let you kidnap him?"

Yami's left eyebrow raised slowly. "Kidnap him? I don't need to. See, I knew you wouldn't understand, because you are a human, and humans cannot comprehend the ways of vampires."

"They don't want to, either," Tea said, cocking her gun. "If you refuse to leave Yugi alone, I have no choice but to destroy you where you stand."

"Like you wouldn't have tried that otherwise?" Yami said with a smirk.

"No; I would have let someone else have the privilege," Tea said. "Possibly."

"Why don't you put that pathetic weapon away and fight me with your own two hands?" Yami suggested, his evil smile becoming more evil. "Or are you afraid to try?"

"I don't stoop down to accepting challenges presented by vampires," Tea said. "I just want you dead, and the rest of your posse with you." She fired.

Suddenly something at the back of her mind alerted her that something was wrong, terribly wrong. She thought that for a split second Yami was advancing towards her at an incredible speed. Instinct kicked in and she leaped several feet into the air. She looked underneath herself and saw Yami standing where she had been, a pleased smile on his face. She landed on the edge of the roof without losing her balance.

"Interesting," Yami said. "For a moment I wondered if you would notice." The gun had somehow pulled itself out of her hand and flung itself several yards away from them both. Then Yami vanished again. Not completely however; Tea could see him zooming towards her again. She wanted to jump away, but before she could, he had come up to her and grabbed her around the neck and was now dangling her over the edge of the building. A hard street a good seven stories away was below her. Her own hands reflexively grabbed Yami's wrist in an effort to pull off his hand, which was cutting off her air.

"If you don't mind," Yami said as if shooting the breeze with a buddy, "when I finish with you I am going to go get my brother before he gets himself into trouble. He's quite the unstable one, you know. Goes half-crazy if he doesn't eat in his vampire form."

"I don't believe you!" Tea managed to say though her throat was being squeezed.

"Then you're in denial," Yami replied. He made a move as if to release Tea and let her plunge to the waiting ground. But before he could, Tea's leg shot out and she kicked him in the chest. He let go and stumbled backwards as Tea used her own momentum to make it to the roof. Her lower half slammed against the wall, but she managed to kick her legs into a flip, regain her footing, and stand up, safely back on the roof.

Yami stood up as well. "Not bad," he said. "I was beginning to wonder if your gun was the only weapon you had."

"I'm not an idiot," Tea replied shortly. "You could take my gun and destroy it somehow. I only use it because it kills vampires more quickly. But if I have to, I can use my sword or myself to destroy you."

"Well, you won't succeed," Yami said. "I wonder if you know how badly I want to kill you and drink your blood right now. Fortunately for you, the sun is coming up. But when it goes down tonight, we will meet once again, and I will get rid of you. And then I will retrieve my little brother from your house with no interruption. Heed my words, and heed them well." Then he disappeared, leaving his customary wisp of black smoke behind.

Tea turned to the east and saw the first rays of sunrise. She massaged her neck and picked up her gun. It was time to head home. She was certain Yugi was safe for the rest of the daylight hours now, but when night fell, she would have to be ready for Yami. And she would be.

Oh, she would be _ready_.

000

**END CHAPTER**

Mena: Woooo...

Toli: (grunts as she tries to lift block off Mena's head) Quite the...(grunt)...long chapter...(grunt)...no? We'll...(grunt)...see you...(grunt)...next time!...(grunt grunt)


	6. Secrets Of The Vampires 1

**dontmesswithYami**

Toli: Nah, we won't mess with Yami. Much! Hahahahahahahahahaha!

Mena: O.o; O-kay. Hey, an evil Yami is something kind of interesting! It's like one of those villains you love to hate! Like Pegasus, only much, much hotter!

Toli: Or something. Hope you like the next chapter!

**Masami, Mistress Of Fire**

Toli: Yeah! We're all friends! Of course!

Mena: Damie-chan, I want to see some of these pictures you have of me. You got what I look like right, correct? Brown skin, hazel-ish eyes, blue hair fading into black ends...

Toli: Are you gonna model fro him next?

Mena: Aw, quiet.

Toli: Masami, why does it seem like every time I turn around, you get a new injury? Broken leg...hurt knee...punctured lung...what next? Stroke? Concussion? Heart attack? Sudden poisoning? Well, anyway, immunity isn't something we all can have. But what am I talking about? I don't have it either! Anyhow, hope you enjoy.

**Kameeko **and Kamoray

Toli: Yeah, evil Yami. Some people like, some don't. Glad you like it, though. I'm not sure how evil Yami's going to get, but he will stay evil for the rest of the story, I'm pretty sure.

Mena: Wow! You think this is a really good fanfic? Great! We're sorry it took so long, but Toli got mega-mucho Writer's Block after the scene on the roof. She tried and tried, even downed some coffee, but all to no avail.

Toli: But it's here now! And this chapter is kind of...um...LONG. So, enjoy!

Toli: Hey! Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Mele Kalikimaka! Yumoquo Tupesas! Okay, now that that's done, say hello to the unblocked Mena! (while wrapping up Mena's head in bandages)

Mena: Hi, everybody! (waves bandaged hand)

Jesselda: At least she's still cheerful.

Toli: Ready to write, Mena?

Mena: No...I don't think so.

Toli: All right! I'll do it then! We don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, but it does own us! Hahahahahaha!

**SIX: Secrets Of The Bloodsuckers 1**

**THE NEXT NIGHT**

_(Tea's P.O.V.)_

"Tea?"

I turned at the vaguely familiar voice and found Duke Devlin behind her, dressed in black, with a sword strapped to his back. "Duke?" I said in disbelief.

Duke smiled. "So, this is why you stood me up on Saturday. You're a slayer too."

I turned and walked towards him. "I had no idea _you_ were a slayer. You keep the secret quite well."

"So do you," Duke said, flipping a few strands of black hair out of his eyes. "I figured keeping up a good social life would help further hide the fact. Who would think a slayer would have time for Saturday dates?"

I couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, you two." The two of us turned and saw Mai standing on the roof of a building a few feet taller than theirs, wearing all black like them, a hip holster containing her gun, and a sheath strapped to her back. Unlike Duke, who was covered from neck to toe, and me, who had opted to wear black leather pants that night, she had on a black miniskirt with a matching crop top underneath a waist-length black leather vest. She expertly jumped from her rooftop to ours. "So, how would you two like your next lessons in interrogating vampires?"

"Why? Is there one to interrogate?" Duke asked.

Mai nodded. "I caught the sucker trying to make the home stretch and tied her to a tree. Come on." She turned and jumped back up to the higher rooftop, with Duke and I following, headed in the direction of the park.

The vampire Mai had captured was tied to a tree with a bike chain. I realized this was near the area where I had first met Yugi. My attention was then focused on the vampire, which Mai and Duke pointed their guns at. The girl had shoulder-length blond hair and bright maroon eyes that were flashing angrily at Mai. She looked pretty young, maybe just a little older than Yugi; I wondered absently if she was a birthed or morphed vampire.

"Let me go!" the bloodsucker yelled, trying to wriggle free of the restricting chain.

"Not so fast," Mai said. "We've got a few questions for you, and if we get the answers we want, we'll consider sparing you for now."

The vampire looked angry. "I can't tell you anything," she hissed, baring her lengthening fangs.

"Too bad," I said, taking out her own gun.

The girl looked from one gun's barrel to another. She panicked. "All right, all right. I'll tell you what I can. But I don't know much."

"Does that mean you were morphed into a vampire?" Duke wanted to know.

The girl glared at him. "Yes. A week ago. And it was the best damn thing that ever happened to me."

"That depends on how you look at it," Mai said.

"It's freedom. Freedom from the inferiority of being human. Freedom to be the dominant race, to have nothing to fear at night. If I had had the choice, I would have been _born _a vampire," the girl stated.

Something Yami had said to me came back to my mind. _"Yugi is supposed to be a full-fledged vampire. He would happily accept the fact if he didn't have those inferior human emotions." _So apparently becoming a vampire somehow made you less afraid to do evil and less guilty about murder.

"We want to know more about the vampires' hidden realm," I said.

The vampire's glare swung to me. "It exists," she snapped.

My eyes narrowed. I hated sarcasm. And especially in vampires. All of Yami's sarcasm had been grating on me for long enough, and I wasn't taking it any longer. Before Mai or Duke could say anything, I had raised my gun and fired.

The vampire bit down on her lip to keep from screaming, but she couldn't old back a whine of pain. Blood oozed from the new hole in her right hand. The blood was much thicker and human blood, and much darker. It resembled molasses. The veins in her hand around the hole darkened from ultraviolet poisoning.

"Answer the question," I said, aiming the gun at her other hand. "And answer it without sarcasm. You can't afford to be witty."

The girl's eyes had squeezed shut in pain. She opened one to look up at me. "The realm...is called Ambit. You enter it via a series of...portals located in different places in the city. Every night, the location of the portals are rearranged...by the leader to help keep trespassers like slayers from entering. You have to find one of the overseers to learn the...location of the nearest portal to Ambit."

"Who are the overseers?" Mai asked.

"I don't know," the girl said. "They're changed every week for the same reasons the portals are moved."

Mai nodded. "That's all we're going to get," she said to Duke and I. She stepped forward and unwound the chain. The vampire was free to go for giving us some information. She clutched her right hand with her left and glared at me before retreating into the darkness.

"Spread out, you two," Mai said. "Go ahead and kill vampires, but see if you can get any more information. Don't let a potential squealer escape." She started off.

Duke nodded to me. "Happy hunting," he said. He turned to run off. I did so also. Suddenly, my vampire senses flared strongly, indicating a vampire coming towards me. Without missing a beat, I turned, pulled out my gun, and shot the vampire (**NFT: **The one they had just been questioning) in the chest as she leapt through the air, aiming for me. Her face took on a look of shock before she crumbled into dust.

"Wow," Duke said. "You're good."

I smirked, blew the wisp of smoke off the barrel of my gun, and gave him a play salute with the tip of my gun barrel. "One of the best," I said easily. I broke into a run, my vampire senses homing in on another bloodsucker.

This promised to be a good night.

_(Normal P.O.V.)_

Yugi remained underneath Tea's sheets, shivering. The pain was increasing. He'd tried eating as much regular food as Joey, which was a lot, but it only helped in the barest sense of the word. He knew that he would only get complete satiation if he had some blood, and lots of it. But he would not break his promise. He was determined not to.

_But it's pretty hard to willingly starve yourself when there's a perfectly good resource of blood downstairs, _a little voice said in his head.

_No! _Yugi fought back. _There is no way I'd do that to Joey. Not after he's been so nice to me!_

_He's a human; he's inferior. You would only be feeding yourself, like Yami said._

_Yami is wrong! I can't let go of my resolve. It's absolutely crucial--_

_What are you talking about? You are a vampire. Do vampire stuff!_

_I can't!_

I_ see no reason why not._

_It's wrong, I tell you, wrong. I can't--I won't--_

_Wrong to a human, maybe. But not to a vampire. What are you starving yourself for? You know good and well eventually you'll need blood. Why not now instead of later?_

Yugi pressed his hands over his ears, trying to block out the persistent voice. It had gotten louder with every night that passed, just as the pain had gotten worse. He could feel tears slipping through his squeezed eyelids.

_I can't do it, _he said as a last resort.

_Yes you can, and you will. Go downstairs right now and get the sustenance you need from that inferior human._

The voice then sounded like Yami. Yugi felt almost too weak to disobey it. He rolled from one side to the other and eventually fell out of bed. He stood up, slowly, the pain throbbing inside of him from head to toe. Now he could smell Joey's blood; it smelled tasty. Slowly he left the room. At the stairs, he hesitated. Joey was talking to someone on the "phone". This was wrong; he shouldn't do it. Then the pain in his body intensified, and he could hear his brother speaking again. _Just do it, and then run. Run and find a vampire to take you home._

Yugi cautiously made his way down the first step, and then the next. Finally he got into a steady walk. He reached the bottom just as Joey got off the phone. The highschooler turned and saw him. "Hey, Yugi, I thought you were asleep."

_Do it! Kill him _NOW

"I can't," Yugi breathed, and then the pain consumed him and he collapsed.

When he woke up, the pain had subsided to merely an empty feeling. He must be human again. He opened his eyes and found Tea and Joey leaning over him. Daylight was streaming through the open window.

"What happened?" Tea asked. "Are you all right?"

Yugi nodded. "But--but I-I almost went against my word. I almost...I almost killed Joey."

Joey's eyes widened. "So dat's why you was lookin' at me all funny," he said. "Well, I guess I'm glad you decided to pass out instead."

"I'm dangerous," Yugi said fearfully.

Tea put her hand on his forehead. "No, you're just hungry. And, well, I guess that _does _make you kind of dangerous."

"Maybe I could cut myself and let him have whateva comes out," Joey suggested.

"That's not a good idea," Tea said. "If he's as hungry for blood as he says he is, a meager taste from some dumb cut is only going to make him want more. He might end up trying to hurt you. We just have to find a better solution."

"Like what?" Joey asked. Then his eyes lit up. "Hey! How 'bout we go to a blood bank, and steal some blood, and give it to Yugi--"

"Also not good," Tea said. "Theft is against the law, remember?"

Joey pouted. "Well, then maybe he should jus' go to sleep when night falls."

"That seems like the best solution," Tea said. Joey beamed at her approval at _one_ of his ideas.

"What if I wake up in the middle of the night?" Yugi asked. "Maybe you should lock the door, too. I don't want to get loose and hurt anybody."

"Are you sure?" Tea asked.

Yugi nodded.

"All right, then I'll lock the door and the window when I go out at night," Tea agreed. "But right now, why don't we have something to eat?"

"Pancakes!" Joey demanded eagerly.

"I'm not sure if I should include you in 'we'," Tea said, smiling.

"Aw! You can't do dat!" Joey cried. He was blushing a little underneath Tea's smile.

So they had pancakes. Joey had twelve, and Yugi had eleven, and Tea just stared. "You're giving him bad habits," she said to Joey.

"Well, he could use some weight!" Joey shot back.

Tea checked her watch. "Yikes! Joey, we need to get out of here and go to school."

"Why don't we just call in sick?" Joey asked.

Tea sighed. "We're going to school." She turned to Yugi. "Think you can stay here alone until 4:00 PM?"

Yugi nodded. "The sun won't have gone down yet, so I--I'll be all right." But he didn't sound exactly sure of that.

"Okay," Tea replied. "Come on, Joey! Put your shoes on and let's roll!" She stopped and turned back to Yugi. "If you use the microwave, don't set it for more than two minutes at a time. If you eat something in a can, use the automatic can opener on the counter. Instructions are on the side. Don't use the stove. We'll see you at 4:00." She left, practically dragging a reluctant Joey with her.

Yami stared out. He was looking into a small, oval-shaped portal that showed him the outside world. It was currently focused on Tea's "highschool".

A figure appeared to Yami's left, through the perpetual darkness of Ambit. He didn't turn to address her; he merely spoke over his shoulder. "Is it ready?"

There was a nod. "Yes, Master," the little girl said. In her hands she held a black globe about the size of an average crystal ball. It had a purple sheen. She stepped forward and extended her arms, offering the globe to Yami. He took it.

"And how long will the magic last?" Yami asked.

The girl tilted her head to one side to remember the words spoken to her. "Panik said that it would last for about six hours."

Yami grunted. That was longer than usual. Good, then. Everything was falling into place. Except the part concerning Yugi. Even Panik, who had once tried to overthrow Yami's reign, saying he was meaner, stronger, and more capable, and had learned the hard way that he wasn't, was serving faithfully. That meant that either something was wrong with his mind, or Yami's powers were now strong enough to intimidate the rebellion out of the vampire. Yami flexed the fingers on his free hand. "Very well. Return to your duties."

The girl nodded again and melted back into the darkness.

Yami glanced down at the globe in his hands and smiled. Things were going well.

Quite well, indeed.

**AFTER SCHOOL**

Once again, thirteen seconds after the bell rang, Tea was the first one out the door. Joey followed her, and Serenity brought up the rear.

"I'd better hurry!" Tea said over her shoulder as she ran down the sidewalk. "Yugi might be worried about me. It's already 4:30!"

"Well, couldja slow down jus' a _little_?" Joey cried as he puffed after her.

"I guess," Tea said, slowing. She was still looking over her shoulder and missed the crack in the sidewalk, which her toe hopped right into. She began to fall forwards.

"Look ou--" Serenity's surprised cry stopped in mid-syllable for a split second. Tea's senses alerted her of the presence of a vampire, but it quickly faded, as did the surrounding light. It became dark, as if someone had just flipped a switch and turned off the sun. She gained her footing quickly, and Serenity resumed her call. "--t, Te...a?"

"Who turned out da lights?" Joey asked, bewildered. It was night.

Tea looked down at her watch. "Oh my _GOSH_! It's 9:39!" she cried. She realized now that somehow, five hours had passed. She started for home at top speed, and realized that if it was night, her special abilities were working, so of course she left Joey and Serenity in the dust as she sped for home.

**TEA'S APARTMENT**

Yugi shivered as he watched the final rays of daylight sink beneath the horizon. It was already 6:57, and Tea was not home. Worse still, he was changing into his vampire form again, and the pain he had been able to escape last time rushed back with a vengeance. He nearly lost his balance when it came over him.

Stumbling to the sofa, he laid down on it and simply curled into a ball and held his stomach. Why was Tea not home yet? She said that she would be home at 4:00, and it was three hours after the appointed time. He hoped that she hadn't simply forgotten about him.

He didn't know he had fallen asleep until a noise woke him up. He was in too much pain to look over the sofa and see what it was, but he hoped it was Tea. It had gotten darker outside, and he had on no lights, so he was in the dark, though he could see right through it as any vampire could.

"You look pathetic."

Yugi started at the sound of Yami's voice. He should have known it wasn't anybody good. When he looked up, he could see a silhouette looming over him and the back of the sofa. It was obviously his brother. After a few seconds, he could see his brother's face through the darkness. It took his eyes longer to adjust than those of a complete vampire.

"Why are you putting yourself through this torture?" Yami went on. "It's ridiculous. You're only delaying the inevitable, and going through unnecessary pain while you're at it. Will you _eat _already?"

"No!" Yugi said forcefully, or as forcefully as he could with the pain gnawing on his insides. "I refuse."

There was a loud sigh. "This is foolish," Yami continued. "Why do you insist on making yourself miserable, _and _pathetic-looking, might I add, like this? You know sooner or later you're going to need some blood. You can't just hope the pain will magically vanish like some, some human _stomachache_." He spoke the last word like it was a four-letter word.

"I'm not doing it," Yugi repeated. "I'm not breaking my promise."

There was another sigh. "Do you happen to know how angry you are making me? How much I want to wring your neck and return you to your senses? You're making this hard for the both of us."

"How in the world is this hard for _you_?!" Yugi demanded.

There was silence. Then Yami spoke in a less harsh tone than the one he had been using. "Despite the fact that you believe I'm a coldhearted murderer who thinks about no one except himself--"

"_And _that you won't leave me alone," Yugi cut in. "Don't forget that."

"--I do care about you," Yami continued, like Yugi had never spoken. "I'm worried about your well being. If I didn't care, do you honestly think I'd even be bothering? I'd let you starve yourself and die a monster. But I am _trying_, Yugi, to save you from a lot more pain, and not just the physical kind. I can see you've obviously put your trust in that--that vampire slayer you've decided to move in with. Don't you realize that she doesn't trust you back? She never could. You know that she's secretly afraid of what you could do to her and her friends. Don't think she wouldn't hesitate to kill you if she thinks you're a 'threat'. She would. And you would have no one to blame but yourself."

"She wants to help me," Yugi said through teeth gritted with pain.

Sarcasm entered Yami's voice. "Help you do what? Endure the pain better? No matter how much you try to deny it, you are a vampire and that's all you'll be. That stupid myth about becoming a human--that's untrue. It wouldn't even make sense! You need to get it out of your head that--"

"Leave me alone," Yugi snapped.

Another silence. Then Yugi felt hands grab his shoulders and pull him into a sitting position. Yami was right in front of him, their noses only inches away. Yugi could see right into Yami's eyes, which were deep red, like always. They were glowing slightly, enough to notice that they were, but not enough to cast light on anything. "Tell me the truth," Yami said in a low voice. "How much pain are you in?"

Yugi gulped. At the question, the pain seemed to intensify. Now it felt like acid burning inside of him. "A-A lot," he whispered. "It's excruciating."

"Then I tell you what," Yami said. "I have an idea. It will relieve you of your pain but it won't cloud your incredibly sensitive conscience. Will you hear me out, or will you send me away?"

Yugi looked down at his lap, which of course he could see, and considered through the pain. Then he looked back up. "Yes. I'll hear you out."

Yami smiled. "Good."

**END CHAPTER**

Toli: Let's see now, E-N-D, space, C-H-A-P-T-E-R! I'm finished! (lifts fingers from keys) Yow! Yowyowyowyowwww! My fingers are killing me!

Mena: Here you go, sis! (holds up bowl of cold water)

Toli: I guess I felt I had to make up for Mena's lack of writing. Yowwww... (sticks fingers in bowl of water. Steam rises and water bubbles and sizzles) See you next time!

**Slain trivia**

Vampires have four distinctive qualities that humans do not have. One, they have skin that is solid white and tending towards pale blue, because they are not truly "alive" in the human sense. Two, they have elongated (and sometimes enlarged) canines, which will lengthen when they feel extreme emotions such as anger, or when they are about to feed. Three, they all have eye colors that are none of the regular human eye colors, like Yami's crimson eyes, or Yugi's amethyst eyes. Four, they have blood that is twice as thick as regular human blood, and shades darker, because they feed off of blood so often.


	7. Murderer

**RESPONSES

* * *

****Eve-Of-Misery**

Toli: Thanks for the review! We're glad you like the story!**

* * *

Phoenix727 **

Toli: Yeah, don't you just love the villains that have a sense of humor?

Mena: Yeah, sorta. Hey, what's the inside joke? I'm curious! And we're partial to stories that are nice to Tea too. It seems like a lot of people hate Tea/Anzu and want to bash her in stories. That kinda stinks.

Toli: True. And about Yugi/Tea romance...Honestly, I wasn't planning any. I was going to have a little Joey/Tea romance, and that doesn't add very much to the story...but the way the story is going, it will be hard to have Yugi/Tea romance. Sorry if that disappoints you or anything.

Mena: Please continue to read and review anyway!

* * *

**Kameeko**

Mena: Sorry. We need a continuous villain and, well, Yami's it. It's a weird thought, ne?

Toli: Sure is. Trust me, we are going to write AND post this whole story. Actually, in writing...I'm working on the next to last chapter, so don't worry...we're going to start backing up chapters on disk so we can keep the promise.

Mena: Yes, because it totally sucks when you're into a good story and the author suddenly discontinues it. But we won't be doing that, promise! And thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Masami, Mistress Of Fire**

Toli: Poor Masami! Evil giant curvy cast! Lemme sign it! (signs Toli T. with giant marker that magically appears)

Mena: Damie-chan! I have got to see some of your pictures! (flashes puppy dog eyes) Pleeease?

Toli: Yeah, you should tell him you've started drawing pictures of the two of you, Mena!

Mena: Sisterrr! You weren't supposed to tell!

Toli: Masami, I believe you about the air thing! I was standing at the top of my stairs, and I heard this evil voice say "You're next!" and then I was on my way down the stairs...I didn't break anything, but I crashed into Mom...she was carrying the fishbowl...our fishes fell onto the carpet...and Mani vacuumed them up. One died. Oh well, we still got twenty-six more! Anyway, thanks for reviewing! Hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

raiki casinio **

Mena: Hey! And welcome!

Toli: Glad you like the fic! Hah, "bloody", that's like a joke, since this is a vampire fic, and there's going to be lots of blood...

Mena: All right, Toli, enough! Please! Anyhow, hope you enjoy the chappie!

* * *

**Ksaturn**

Mena: Hey! Welcome to the world of vampires!

Toli: We're so glad you like the story! And vampires do rule. The guys are hot in a bloody kind of way...

Mena: And you're obsessed. -.-; Anyway, hope you enjoy the next chappie and thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Gijinka Renamon**

Mena: Hey! Welcome! Glad you like the story. We hope you continue to read and review!

* * *

**kristen89**

Mena: Heya! Welcome!

Toli: Aww, Yami's the big loving older bro. Too bad he's evil. Sorry--I can't tell you what happened with the time. It's one of the vampire's secrets. Keep reading, though, and you'll find out how!

Mena: Thanks for your reviews!

* * *

Toli: Hi everyone! (waves bandaged hand) 

Mena: Hello! (waves bandaged hand)

Jesselda: They still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Toli: Please enjoy the chapter that has helped to injure us both!**

* * *

SEVEN: Murderer **

Tea made it to her aunt's apartment in record time. She unlocked the door and threw it open. Inside was dark and empty.

"He's gone!" Tea exclaimed. "Oh no. His brother must have found him!"

She quickly changed into a black tank top and black pants and her trench coat, complete with gun and sword. As she ran around that side of town, she wondered and wondered about the strange passing of time. How had it happened? Had she maybe been knocked unconscious?

A loud scream came from her left. Tea turned, alarmed. It sounded familiar. She headed quickly that way.

Tea saw two familiar figures standing over a body on the street. She jumped down. When she landed, she startled them both and caused them to look at her. It was Joey and Serenity.

"What's wrong?" Tea asked.

Serenity looked terrified. "It's--it's--" she couldn't even talk.

"Some vampia got Tristan!" Joey answered for her.

"_What_?!" Tea walked over and looked down at the body. Sure enough, it was Tristan, with two puncture marks on his wrist. He was definitely dead; she could tell that before she checked for his nonexistent pulse. The fact that his face and arms were death pale betrayed the fact that he had been drained of all of his blood.

Tea stared at the puncture marks. "This is strange," she said. "These puncture marks are a lot smaller than any I've ever seen. They're both less than an inch, I can eyeball that, and the marks that normal vampire fangs leave behind are usually at least three inches long since they drag their fangs through the flesh. I wonder..."

"I bet it was Yugi," Serenity cut in. "His fangs were really small, remember? I bet he went crazy and came after the first person he saw! I'll bet he's on the loose right now killing more innocent people and sucking out their blood. I'll bet you anything. I'll bet!"

"Serenity, calm down," Joey said. "It couldn've been Yugi. Even if he ain't at Tea's apartment, I'd sooner believe dat psycho brotha of his kidnapped him than he broke his own word. He was so hell-bent on keepin' his promise. He wouldn' do dis."

"How do you know?" Serenity cried. "You don't know if he really meant it. Maybe he was stringing us along the whole time, hoping to suck our blood instead, but Tea took too long coming home so he went out to find a meal instead of wait for delivery!"

"Serenity!" Tea exclaimed, slapping her near-hysterical friend across the face. "We don't have any proof yet, so don't jump to any conclusions!"

Serenity almost glared at Tea as she put a hand across her rapidly reddening cheek. "Okay, okay. I won't say anything else about it."

Suddenly, a body landed on the street right in front of them. All three jumped, and Serenity let out a brief scream of surprise. Tea stared at the body, and she thought she felt her heart stop.

"Tea," Joey said slowly, "izzat...is dat yer aunt?"

"It is," Tea said, staring at her aunt's lifeless form. There were two puncture marks, identical to the ones on Tristan's wrist, showing through a large tear in the shoulder of her jacket. "She's been murdered by a vampire."

"It's Yugi, I tell you!" Serenity screamed. "He's done it! I just know it!"

While Joey tried to keep his sister from exploding from hysterics, Tea's head snapped up to see where the body had fallen from. Up on the roof of the closest building, leaning over the street, was Yugi. He had a shocked look on his face.

Without a word, Tea jumped up to the roof. Yugi stared at her. She no longer saw the look of pain in his eyes, and she was shocked out of her skin to see a trickle of blood coming out of the corner of his mouth.

"T-Tea," Yugi stammered, "Please, before you jump to conclusions, let me explain--"

"Did you kill my aunt and Tristan?" Tea demanded, cutting him off.

Yugi's head shook wildly. "No! No I didn't! It was--"

"Then how come there's blood coming out of your mouth, like you just had a snack?" Tea went on.

Yugi looked guilty. "Well, I did have some blood, but--"

"You creep." Tea cocked her gun and pointed it at Yugi.

Yugi's eyes went wide. "Wait!" he cried. "Please, don't kill me! Just let me explain!"

"No," Tea said shortly. "I've given you your chance to explain before. How could you do this? We said we'd help you. It isn't my fault I was late. Why would you go and do this? Why would you murder when you vehemently said you would never do such a thing!" After a moment's silence, Tea spoke again. "I should have known better than to trust you. You and your cute little innocent face and heartbreaking story. Every vampire is exactly the same. Bloodthirsty, evil, coldhearted, merciless, and deceitful. And you're the worst."

Yugi's eyes had begun to fill with tears. He reached up a hand and wiped the blood from his mouth, almost fearfully. He didn't speak however, and that was a good thing, for Tea would have shot him immediately had he said a word. She was about to pull the trigger anyway, when he suddenly vanished, and left one of Yami's wisps of black smoke behind. She stared at the spot where he had been, and then lowered her gun and turned and leapt off the roof.

She landed back on the ground where Joey and Serenity were. Joey looked up. "Where'd ya go, Tea?" he asked.

Tea sighed and looked down, not wanting to answer.

"Did you see Yugi?" Serenity asked. "Or Yami? I hope Yugi's okay."

"It took me a while, but I finally convinced Serenity dat Yugi ain't t' blame," Joey said with a proud smile. "So, what _did_ happen?"

They were met with silence. "Tea?" Serenity asked again.

Tea looked up. "It was Yugi. He killed Tristan, and he killed my aunt. He said so himself."

Serenity gasped, and Joey looked shocked. "He _what_?!" Joey exclaimed.

"I knew it. I knew it was him!" Serenity cried, half in anger, half in triumph.

Joey, unbelieving, took a step forward. "No way. It couldn've--he said--he couldn't..." He grabbed Tea's shoulders. "Are ya sure, Tea? Did he really say he killed 'em? Are ya sure?"

"Yes!" Tea shoved Joey's hands away. "He did it! He murdered them both! He lied to us, Joey, _all of us_!"

"No way!" Joe cried, shaking his head violently. "He said he wouldn' do it! He couldn've gone back on his word!" He looked angry, and hurt. "We were gettin' along so well..."

"Well, get over it," Tea snapped. "All he was doing was stringing us along in his evil bloodsucking game for some reason only he understands. We should never have trusted him!" She turned and bolted.

Joey watched her go, anger boiling inside of him. Was Yugi really as evil and deceitful as Tea had said? The little guy had seemed so passionate in his stand against being a vampire. He could remember Yugi asking about the chicken nuggets, and suggesting Tea lock him up in her room so he couldn't escape and hurt someone. Was it really all just a lie? Then why had he done it?

Serenity put her hand on Joey's shoulder. "Sorry, big brother," she said sincerely. She knew how much he liked hanging out with Yugi.

Joey sighed. "Well, what can ya do, sis. If that's the way it was goin'..." he trailed off. They stood together in the night.

"Hey, you two." They turned to see an unfamiliar blond wearing all black and carrying a gun suddenly beside them. "Tea's friends, right? You'd better get yourselves home. There are vampires out."

* * *

**THE EMPTY PARK**

Yugi didn't look up when he heard the rustle. He didn't care anymore. It had been very stupid for him to go along with Yami's suggestive plan. Why didn't he think of the fact that Tea would think _he_ had killed those people before? He had been in so much pain it had seemingly overridden his normal tenacity.

Yugi remained in his position, knees pulled up to his chest, arms resting on top of his knees, face buried in his arms. He was crying, and rather hard.

"I told you."

Yugi still didn't look up when he heard his brother's familiar voice.

"Why was it so hard for you to believe me? All right, so perhaps my idea wasn't the best of them all, but she never even gave you a chance to explain. She didn't even let you finish a sentence. She was so ready to kill you on an assumption. You _can't_ depend on humans, Yugi. Do you understand that now?"

"It's not fair," Yugi said into his knees. Then he looked up angrily at his brother. "But it's your fault! You were the one who killed those people! Why wouldn't you come and admit that?"

"I told you, I had to go kill a vampire slayer," Yami lied. "Besides, that was a wonderfully convenient way to show you how quickly humans are to believe the worst. It's better to be a vampire. We don't have those kinds of problems."

Yugi rested the side of his head on his arms, faced away from Yami. He didn't say anything, and neither did Yami. Yugi closed his eyes and wished he could simply drop dead where he sat. He didn't want to be living such a nightmare. He almost jumped in surprise when he felt his brother's arm sliding around his shoulders.

"You know it hurts to see you so upset," Yami said softly.

On impulse, Yugi turned around and buried his face into Yami's chest. He was so sad. He cried himself into a major headache while his brother just sat there and soaked up all the tears with his shirt. Finally, when Yugi quieted down, Yami spoke. "Ready to go home yet?"

Yugi looked up and saw that the sun was coming up. All these weeks of running and hiding and suffering; was he going to just give it all up and resign himself to being a vampire? Was it all just a big, stupid mistake? Was he just _supposed _to be a full-fledged vampire? He was ready to give up; he was completely exhausted in every way possible. But something in the back of his mind, something as persistent as the pain had been, told him that there was something more, he had something else he could be, and he could be better than a vampire. He couldn't give up. Not yet!

Yugi sat up and removed Yami's arm from his shoulders. "I'm not going with you," he said in a quiet, calm, clear voice, staring his brother right in the eyes. "I'm not going to be a vampire. I want to be a human, and nothing else. What I did during the night was a mistake I'm going to regret for as long as I live. But it won't happen again. Yami, I'm sorry, but I'm not going anywhere with you."

Yami stared, appalled and angry. "Why?" he demanded. "Why would you want to be a human? _What_ is so damn _fascinating _about them?!"

Yugi stood up, his tears gone. He wasn't sure he knew the answer. "You might want to get out of here," he said. "The sun's almost up."

Yami stood slowly, glaring at Yugi. "You'll regret making this choice," he said dangerously. "I don't know how you plan on becoming a human, but if you do, somehow, by some freakish chance, all you'll be is food for vampires. I'm not exactly certain why that thought seems to delight you so much." Then he disappeared, and left behind one of his wisps of smoke.

Yugi turned and slowly left the park as the sun came up completely and brought on the morning.

**END CHAPTER**

**

* * *

**Toli: I'm done with the chapter! I hope you enjoyed! 

Mena: Yeah!

Jesselda: Nooo.

Toli: Please join us next time!

* * *

**Slain trivia**

Vampires are hurt by sunlight, but artificial lighting does not affect them because it does not contain ultraviolet rays (the vampire-killing factor) like sunlight does. Therefore they can walk under streetlamps and not be affected, and have artificial lights in their houses when they need them, and so on.


	8. Danger On All Sides

**RESPONSES

* * *

****Phoeniz727**

Toli: Hey guys! About the trivia...that's just a little something we put at the end of some of the chapters to help the readers better understand Slain and its characters. They're quite fun to write, really. And in case it was hard to tell, most of the characters are quite OOC in this story, so Tea doesn't have as much patience and understanding as she should. Hmmm...I never knew about that soda thing...I'll have to try it...

Mena: Aw, I wanted to hear the inside joke. Oh well, I'll just pretend I know it. Sister, since we never say _exactly_ how Yami does it, can I tell them now?

Toli: Sure, why not.

Mena: Great! Well, see, Tea said in the last chapter that vampires drags their fangs through flesh. That's so they have an easier way to obtain blood. All Yami had to do was bite his victims without dragging his fangs to set Yugi up. Terrible, ne? Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Ksaturn**

Mena: Thanks so much for the compliments! We're glad you like the story. We work hard on it...well, it's mostly Toli, because it's hard for me to write scary stuff without going insane. But anyway! Arigato again for the review!

* * *

**Masami, Mistress Of Fire**

Toli: Hey Masami!

Mena: (waves piece of paper happily) Hi, Damie-chan!

Toli: They just OUGHTA give you a walking cast! I mean, how do they expect you to get around? Walk on your arms? Learn how to leapfrog?

Mena: I bet if I had a curvy cast, Damie-chan would carry me...(blushes and smiles fondly) Here's my latest picture, Damie-chan. It's us at the park! We're holding hands! And ignore that giant red spot on your left leg...that's ketchup.

Toli: Masami, who else do you know that The Wind might go after? You have to figure out who's next and warn them! Hahahaha! "nice cushy mom"! That cracked me up so good! Anyway, (takes a breath) thanks for keeping up company!

* * *

**kristen89**

Mena: Isn't it just terrible? Poor Yugi feels so bad for what he did...but it was Yami that convinced him to do it! Yami is too slick a villain!

Toli: (rubs hands together in glee) I know. That's what makes it so great.

Mena: (throws out hands) Wait! Don't bop Tea! She's basically the main character and we can't have her slaying vamps with a head injury! If we keep updating, do you promise not to whop her?

* * *

**Eve-Of-Misery**

Toli: Yes, I know. Sometimes humans are such unreliable creatures.

Mena: O.O But...aren't you a human?

Toli: (evil grin) That, my dear sister, remains to be seen...

Mena: O.O; Help...

* * *

Toli: Hi, everyone! 

Mena: Welcome back! Let's all say WDOY together...

Jesselda: Let's not.

Mena: T.T

Toli: Well, let's begin the chapter, before Mena causes the second Flood

* * *

**Warning: The rating may--MAY, key word here--have to be raised to R because the violence and graphic stuff will get worse. If the story is _ever_ high enough for R, please let us know immediately so we can keep it from being deleted. And there may--MAY again--end up being a little bit of Joey/Tea. We don't know as of yet.

* * *

****EIGHT: Danger On All Sides **

**CEMETERY**

**(three days later)**

Tea stared sullenly at the giant rectangle-shaped hole in the ground. Inside it was a coffin containing her aunt's body. It was the funeral. About twenty yards away, there was another funeral for someone else.

Joey and Serenity stood on either side of Tea. All three were dressed in black. Behind them were two of Tea's aunt's friends, a few of her co-workers, and her boss, who she had been dating and who also promised to cover the expenses of the funeral. Joey had a comforting arm around Tea's shoulders, and she welcomed it gladly. She wished that there was something she could have done.

As she tuned out the minister's droning, she thought back to the night she had discovered her aunt's body. She still couldn't believe Yugi had murdered her aunt. And Tristan. Why had he done it? Had his pain become so intense that he had had to make a kill-or-die decision? Or had he simply been stringing her along the whole time, like Serenity suspected? But something at the back of her mind was still bugging her about that night. Something Yugi had said. She tried to remember what they had first said to each other.

"_T-Tea," Yugi stammered, "Please, before you jump to conclusions, let me explain--"_

"_Did you kill my aunt and Tristan?" Tea demanded, cutting him off._

_Yugi's head shook wildly. "No! No I didn't! It was--"_

"_Then how come there's blood coming out of your mouth, like you just had a snack?" Tea went on._

What had Yugi been about to say? Was he going to accuse someone else? Tea almost wished she had let him finish. But there was too much evidence pointing to him. And no one else had been on the roof with him. He had to be guilty. Right?

Tea could feel a strange feeling at the back of her mind. It was her vampire senses. They were toned down but not turned off during the day. She thought she could feel someone's eyes on her, and glanced over at a grove of trees nearby. She thought she saw someone watching her from behind one, but the silhouette was gone before she could decide whether or not it was real.

_Strange, _Tea thought.

Vampires didn't come out during the day.

**THAT NIGHT**

"Joey! Come on, help me!" Serenity said. She dragged the large trash bag through the balcony door to drop it in the disposal chute.

"Comin'," Joey said. He put down his plate and unglued his eyes from the television to get up and help his sister. Walking through the balcony door, he watched her slowly drag the bulging trash bag and shouted, "You can do it, yes you can!"

"Quiet up there!" someone yelled from down below.

Serenity glared at her brother. "You know what kind of help I meant," she said.

Joey laughed and took the bag from his sister. "Yeah, I know," he said. He dragged it to the chute much faster and dropped it in.

Serenity looked up suddenly. "Hey, did you see that?" she asked.

"See what?" Joey asked her.

Serenity pointed at a dark shadow that was dropping towards them. "That," she answered.

Down below the crotchety old man heard the two teenagers who lived above him scream. He thumped his ceiling with his cane. "Keep it quiet up there!" he growled.

Joey and Serenity's mom walked out onto the balcony. "Joseph, Serenity, is something wrong?...Joseph? Serenity?" She looked all around. "Where are they?"

**TEA'S APARTMENT**

Tea was just about to jump out the window for another night of vampire slaying when someone knocked on the door. She sighed, put her gun on the coffee table, and went to answer it. Then she sensed a vampire nearby and had a feeling it was in the middle of a kill.

"Whoever you are, you'll have to wait," Tea said to herself as she picked her gun back up and jumped out the window.

She found the vampire, terrorizing a lock-in at a church, and killed it. She killed seven more in the span of three hours.

"I guess I'm having a slow night," Tea said to herself. She stood on the edge of a twelve-story building's roof, looking down at the street. Then she sensed a vampire nearby and turned.

"Don't shoot," the small figure said. "I'm only bringing a message."

Tea stared at the small figure. It was a girl with blond hair in pigtails and yellow eyes and small fangs like Yugi's. She held her gun out anyway, and said, "Let's hear it."

"My master says that you aren't as invulnerable as you think," the vampire said. "He has captured Joseph and Serenity and if you wish to see them again you must do two things."

Tea gasped. "What?!" she cried. "Just who is your master?"

"My master is Yami," the girl said. "The leader of our sect, ruler over all vampires that find their food in this city. He says that you must convince his younger brother to become a vampire and then you must turn yourself in to him all within twenty-four hours or he will kill them both and let us divide them up amongst ourselves. Not only that, if you try to deviate in any way from the terms of this deal, my master will unleash every vampire under his reign on the day of darkness."

Tea could feel rage boiling inside of her. The vampire smiled a thin smile. "He says that if you kill me, he will immediately destroy your friends, so I suggest that you watch where you point that gun." Then the vampire turned and walked into the darkness.

**SOMEWHERE ELSE**

Serenity leaned on her brother's shoulder, trying not to cry. She was more afraid than she had ever been. Joey wrapped a protective arm around her. "Don't worry, sis," he said, "if any vamps wanna take a piece outta ya, they'll hafta get through me first."

"I'll bet you anything this is Yugi's doing," Serenity said. "Maybe he was mad because Tea exposed him for the liar he is and he wanted revenge."

"I dunno about dat," Joey said.

"Oh, it wasn't Yugi," a voice said from out of nowhere. Serenity instantly latched onto Joey's other arm as a figure walked out of the darkness that was surrounding them. "It was only his older brother." Yami's cape lifted behind him and seemed to disappear into the darkness.

"Whaddya want from us, you jerk?" Joey demanded.

"Trust me, you almost aren't worth the effort," Yami replied. "I'm only using you as bait to get what I want. If I don't get what I want, then I'll have my subjects destroy the city and give you to some of my friends and let them decide what to do with you. Of course, when it comes to humans, we vampires seem to have a one-track mind."

Serenity tried not to whimper audibly.

"You better not be plannin' to do anything to Tea, or--" Joey growled.

"Or what? You're a feeble human. I could break your neck like I was tearing a thread," Yami replied. "Don't get any ideas. Your life is on the line, and you probably won't make it out alive anyway."

"Don't be so sure," Serenity said through her trembling. "Tea could destroy you faster than you think. You'll never get away with this."

Yami laughed derisively. "Do you think your words frighten me, human girl? You have a lot to learn about vampires, and especially about me. I don't scare easily. Although I couldn't say the same for my brother." For a brief moment a frustrated look crossed his features.

"That isn't exactly a bad thing," Serenity said, getting a little braver. "Your little brother is just as evil as you are. You should be proud."

"You're actually mistaken," Yami said. "Although I'm pleased to see I fooled you as well as your vampire slayer friend. You see, I set my brother up so he could realize exactly how fickle your kind is. _I_ killed those two people you found, and then I left under the pretense of needing to go kill another vampire slayer. You all fell for it quite nicely, almost as if it was all an act. Unfortunately, my brother still wants to become human, despite all of your obvious flaws. That happens to be one of the terms for your friend to get you back: she has to convince my brother to become a full-fledged vampire."

"Why's dat so important to ya, huh?" Joey asked.

"Yeah. If you really care about your brother you'd let him do what he wants," Serenity put in.

"My brother is misguided," Yami said shortly. "He doesn't realize the full danger of becoming human. And your ridiculous opinions don't sway me either. Do you think that you can win me over with condolence debates?"

"Sure wouldn' hurt if ya learned a little about compassion," Joey snorted.

Yami's eyes narrowed. "Shut up." A black wave of some sort slammed into Joey and threw him against the wall he had been leaning on.

"You can't tell me you're doing all this simply because you want what's best for Yugi!" Serenity cried.

"Since when were you on a first-name basis with my brother?" Yami demanded without raising his voice a notch. "Whatever you call him. That doesn't matter as of yet. Come with me." He didn't give her a choice; he stepped forward, grabbed her by the arm, and almost literally dragged her away.

"Come back hea wit' my sista!" Joey yelled.

There was no reply. Then the girl that had confronted Tea earlier appeared out of the darkness and stared down at him (**NFT:** he was lying on his side since Yami had thrown him against the wall) with yellow eyes.

Joey stared up at her. "You...you're Arthur Hawkins' kid, aren't you?"

"Not anymore," she replied. "I am no longer anyone's child, now that I'm a vampire. But that is not the issue at hand."

"Do I wanna ask what _is _da issue at hand?" Joey said.

Rebecca smirked. "No."

**DOMINO'S STREETS**

The little figure was running as fast as he could. He had a feeling that he was doomed. There was no way his brother had any more patience with him now, and now that Tea thought he had betrayed her, her home was no longer a refuge. He was alone on the streets again. He hadn't seen his brother since the incident at the park.

How would he survive now? Ever since he had made the colossal mistake of going along with Yami's idea, he had been even more steadfast in not drinking anyone's blood whether he murdered them or not. And during the day, it was even harder to acquire human food. What would he do?

"Stop right there, pal."

Yugi froze. He slowly turned to see who was addressing him. Some tall guy in all black with long black hair in a ponytail and green eyes was pointing a gun at him. "Not another step," the guy said, and fired.

Yugi dodged to the left. The bullet streaked past him. Yugi immediately started running again. Behind him he heard the guy's voice. "Hey! Come back here!" A wildly aimed gunshot zipped over his head. Yugi raced into the nearest alley and found a tall brick wall blocking his path. He jumped as high as he could and managed to grab the top of the wall. He scrambled up onto the top and was about to jump over the other side when he heard another gunshot.

This one didn't miss. Yugi felt an incredible pain shoot through his right side, even worse than the pain of being starved had been. Startled by the new excruciating pain, he lost his balance and fell off the wall, landing on his hands and knees on the other side. He could feel something warm and metallic-smelling running from where the pain was the worst and saw a dark fluid dripping off of his side. Slowly he stood up, bracing himself against the wall. He placed his left hand over his injury and pushed himself off the wall.

Just then the guy who had shot him came leaping over the wall. He didn't land on the ground; instead, he fell in a dumpster. Yugi stared at him and tried to take a step forward to run away. It hurt too much to move. The guy scrambled quickly out of the dumpster and stood facing him, gun pointed and ready to fire. "One less of your kind to hurt innocent people," he said as if this was some action-packed TV show. He looked less serious with bits of old food and paper sticking out of his hair.

Yugi didn't even bother explaining. He simply leaned against the wall and waited for the shot, hoping it would be quick.

Suddenly, a wind kicked up. Yugi looked around and gasped as it seemed the scenery around him was passing very quickly. He thought he felt someone's hand on his arm for a split second. Then the strange things stopped happening, and Yugi found that the wall wasn't there anymore. He stared up at the large building in front of him. Where had it come from? He was no longer in the alley with the guy about to shoot him. Instead, he was here. Wherever here was. Maybe he could find somewhere to hide in there.

Yugi took one hesitant step forward, trying hard to ignore the pain that shot down his leg when he did, and very slowly entered the building.

**END CHAPTER**

**

* * *

**Toli: End Chapter! We gotta go now, guys! 

Mena: But we'll be back with another exciting chappie! So, would you like a teeny spoiler for the next chappie? Would you? If not, then we'll seeya. But if so, keep reading!

Jesselda: If you dare.

Mena: Anyway, I know this is a dark fic and all, but next chapter, something good will be happening for Yugi. He's going to meet someone who wants to help him...a special dedication for whoever guesses who the guy is!

Toli: Time to go, sister! We don't want to spoil it _too_ much!

Jesselda: Here's a hint: the guy's a secondary character in the show who had not already been mentioned in this story. Why am I telling you this? Ah, whatever. I'm gone.


	9. Meet The Old Man

**RESPONSES**

**

* * *

Phoenix727**

Toli: Hmmm...

Mena: Oh, come on, don't _you_ start too!

Toli: Oh. Sorry. Anyway, about the Joey/Tea...it's still undecided as to whether or not that'll be in here. I'm kind of leaning towards no, just because I'm not a romance writer. But if a bunch of people want it, then I'll see about putting it in. I'll just have Mena write it or something. Even if I _do_ have Joey/Tea in the story, it won't be a main part. It won't even be a side plot. It'll just be a space filler. So, no worries.

Mena: Hey, what's the idea you got from our chappie? Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be cool! And thanks for keeping us posted on what rating our story should be. We don't want to offend or be deleted! Oh, and remember, this is AU, and the people are quite OOC, so that could change Toli's mind on the Joey/Tea--

Toli: Fat chance! Anywhatever, thanks for reviewing.

**

* * *

**

**xcrystalclearx**

Mena: Mmp, guess number two don't count.

Toli: But thanks anyway for reviewing! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

**

* * *

**

**Ksaturn**

Mena: Thank you so very much for reviewing! We appreciate it! Hope you enjoy the new installment!

**

* * *

**

**Silver Moon Phoenix**

Mena: (sighs) I really wish I knew that inside joke...

Toli: Well, get over it! Just think about some of our inside jokes and you'll feel better.

Mena: Okay. (thinks) Wheat! Hahahaha!

Toli: O.o; What'd I tell you? Anyway, you shouldn't kill Luna, even if she does seem to dislike Yugi to an unhealthy extent... (glares unintentionally at Luna) Anyway, thanks for the review.

**

* * *

**

**Masami, Mistress Of Fire**

Toli: I'll remember that piece of advice! Thanks, Masami!

Mena: (blushes and giggles) You like my picture, Damie-chan? (looks embarrassed as she looks away) I spent half the night on it...

Toli: The judge? Oh no! How can we warn him? Doesn't he have, like, Secret Service too, or something? Stupid ice and cement, hurting my poor pal! (glares at ice and cement with Masami)

**

* * *

**

**kameeko**

Mena: How'd you miss the 7th chapter?

Toli: Mena, don't be mean. They may have accidentally skipped it.

Mena: Oh. True. Well, I hope you've read it now! If not, you'll be kinda confused...

Toli: Weird building, hahaha! Maybe it is! Who knows what it holds!

**

* * *

**

**kristen89**

Toli: No, you can't bonk Tea.

Mena: Yugi should be all right now! We're back and the story can continue! So... (hides behind Toli) no reason to bonk us!

Toli: (rolls eyes)

**

* * *

**Toli: Hi! Thanks for coming back! 

Mena: Yeah! And some of you even guessed who was going to try and help Yugi out. Well, here's news for you! Congratulations to Phoenix727, xcrystalclearx, and Ksaturn, because they all got it right! It's the old man! Now, on with the chappie!

Toli: Uh, disclaimer first, sister!

Jesselda: I'm sure they've gotten it by now.

Mena: Come on, let's just go! WDOY, okay? Let's go already!

Toli: All righty then!

**

* * *

**

**NINE: Meet The Old Man**

Solomon Moto yawned for the third time as he walked to his shop to open it. He had been kept up for a lot of the night by the distant gunshots he had heard. He'd heard them before other nights, but never that close. He was incredibly sleepy now even as he grabbed his key off the hook and went to unlock the door.

Suddenly, he stepped right into some liquid. Solomon looked down irritably, raising his foot up. What was this? He knew he should have worn his shoes like he usually did. But he had been too sleepy to care either way. He was surprised to find the toe of his sock soaked with some dark red fluid. For the first time, he looked down at his floor. The usually gleaming tiles were half covered with the same dark red fluid. Despite the accumulation of it all over the floor, it seemed to move in a jagged stream behind the counter. Curious, Solomon walked to the counter and peeked over it.

"What's this?" he exclaimed, suddenly becoming wide-awake. He walked around the counter and knelt down beside the little form lying with its face to the wall. It was some child, it appeared. He couldn't exactly tell what gender, but it looked like a boy. He was wrapped up in a large jacket, and he was lying in a giant puddle of the same dark red substance. It was then that Solomon realized that the fluid could be blood. That was dangerous. From all of the blood decorating his floor, it had to be a bad injury.

Solomon reached out and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. Immediately the figure tensed and tried to pull itself closer to the wall.

"It's all right," Solomon said soothingly. "I won't hurt you." The boy still tensed under his hand, and then relaxed some. "Are you injured?" Solomon continued. That seemed to be a pretty stupid question, but anything could be possible.

"I-I think so," the boy said in a trembling voice. He didn't say anything else, so Solomon spoke up. "Why don't you turn away from the wall, and we can see if you're okay?"

The boy hesitated, as if he wasn't sure what he wanted to do. He finally raised himself up on his elbow and slowly turned to face Solomon. His amethyst-colored eyes were wide and filled with fear, and his cheek was smudged with dirt. He looked positively pitiful. Solomon gave him a quick once-over to see if he could locate where the injury was. The entire bottom half of the large jacket was covered with blood, plus he was wearing dark colors, so it was hard to tell.

"Tell you what," Solomon said, "why don't I take you into my house so we can look a little more thoroughly for your injury?"

The boy hesitated. "I...I'm not so sure if that's a good idea," he said slowly.

"Nonsense," Solomon persisted. "You obviously need some help. Don't worry, you'll be all right."

The boy hesitated some more, and then finally said, "Okay." Solomon helped him stand up, and he winced when he put his weight on his right leg. Solomon half-carried him into the house, leaving a thinner trail of blood behind than the first one. So he was still bleeding? Just how bad was his injury?

Solomon took the boy into the downstairs bathroom and let him sit in the tub. "I'll be right back," he promised, and left. Moments later he returned with a white box.

"All right," Solomon said, kneeling beside the tub. "Why don't you take off your shirt?"

The boy sighed, as if still afraid, and then shed his jacket. He lifted his shirt and took it off. Immediately Solomon saw the injury: a deep-looking gash that stretched almost all the way across his right side. It was still bleeding, and had already formed a small puddle underneath the boy. Solomon was surprised at how small the gash seemed in proportion to the amount of blood that it had emitted and was still emitting.

(**NFT:** P.O.V. switch)

The man got some stuff out of his first-aid kit. "Just hold still," he instructed, while wetting a cloth with something clear from a bottle. "This will sting some, but it's going to help you later on." He then placed the cloth over the gash.

He was right; it _did _hurt. Yugi clenched his teeth. He was about to pull away from it when the man removed the cloth. Yugi sighed in relief. Then the man wrapped some white bandages around Yugi's stomach to stop the injury from bleeding.

"There," the man said. "That's better, isn't it?"

Yugi nodded faintly.

The man picked up Yugi's blood-soaked shirt and jacket and shook his head. "We'll need to wash these, along with your pants," he said, as if to himself. "While we do that, how about we find you some clothes to wear? I doubt there's anything in this house than can fit you perfectly, but I do still have some clothes I can't wear anymore floating around somewhere upstairs."

The man helped Yugi out of the tub and upstairs where he looked through a large trash bag and pulled out a few articles of clothing. "These were all giveaway," he explained as he helped Yugi into a room with a bed and a dresser in it. "I suppose you could wear them. And you can dress here in the guestroom while I put your clothes in the laundry."

The man left after acquiring Yugi's blood-soaked pants. Yugi sat on the bed in only his boxers, which happened to be blood-free. He looked down at the white shirt and blue jeans the elderly man had given him. Why did he want to help so much? Maybe it was because he didn't know he was aiding a half-vampire. After a moment's deliberation, he put on the shirt and jeans. The shirt's sleeves came past his elbows, and the jeans were inches too long. Yugi rolled up the bottoms of the jeans and ignored the sleeves of the shirt.

(**NFT:** P.O.V. switch again)

Solomon reentered the guest bedroom and saw that the boy had put on the new clothes. They looked a little silly on him, but neither of them minded. He sat on the bed next to the boy. "So, what is your name?"

The boy turned and gazed at him. His purple eyes seemed indecisive. Finally he spoke. "Yugi."

"Yugi," Solomon repeated. "That's an unusual name. How did your mother think of it?"

Yugi's eyes flickered. "I don't know," he said truthfully. "She was murdered before I was old enough to remember her."

"Oh," Solomon said. "I'm very sorry."

Yugi shrugged. "It was her own fault, I suppose." He was looking down at his lap, so he didn't notice Solomon's perplexed gaze. "She and my father were both murdered because they were not supposed to be together. My older brother saved me from the ones who murdered them, but now I think he hates me. I think everyone hates me." He paused. "I was shot, and that's how I got my injury. I know that the bullet didn't stay in me; if it had, I would have been destroyed. I don't actually have any place to go now." He could feel tears threatening.

"That's quite an interesting story, Yugi," Grandpa said. "So are you homeless?"

Yugi shrugged again. "I have no home. I guess I am homeless. But nobody can take me in. I'm far too dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Solomon repeated. He eyed Yugi, who looked even smaller in the sizes too big clothes. "You don't look very dangerous to me."

"Oh, well, that's because the sun is shining. But when it gets dark, I turn into a vampire." At Solomon's shocked look, he continued. "Everyone's afraid of me. A lot of people want to kill me. The guy who shot me was a vampire hunter, I think. But I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want to live in peace. I can't stay with anyone, because I'm a vampire; but I can't go home because I'm half-human. I don't know what to do."

Solomon watched Yugi. The boy's eyes were filling with tears as he gazed down sadly at his lap. "Well, I'll say this," he said. "You still don't seem dangerous to me. And, if what you say is true, you don't want to act like a vampire. I see no reason why you can't stay with me."

Yugi lifted his head to stare at Solomon. "You'd take that risk?" he blurted. "The last people I stayed with nearly got killed because of me."

"That's not a problem," Solomon said easily. "I'm nearly past my limit anyway. I might as well make the most of my last years. Besides, I couldn't live with myself if I simply left you to fend for yourself. Of course, it's up to you, because I don't want to force you, but I would be happy to let you stay here."

A tear dropped from Yugi's eye and sank down into the fabric of his borrowed jeans. "Really? Thank you so much!" More tears fell to join the first. "I really appreciate this--I really do..."

Solomon patted Yugi's rapidly wettening knee. "There, there, you don't have to worry about thanking me. I live to help people."

**END CHAPTER**

**

* * *

**

Mena: Altogether now...Awwwww!

Toli: n.n; You can tell who wrote this chapter!

Mena: What?! _Some_thing sweet had to happen to our sweetie! Readers were starting to complain!

Toli: Well, I never _said_ this was a fluff story, now did I?

Mena: (grumbles)...No.

Toli: Sorry we can't have any more, but any more and we'd be spoiling! But don't worry! Something should be up by next Friday! Seeya then!


	10. Secrets Of The Vampires 2

**RESPONSES**

**

* * *

**

**Ksaturn**

Mena: Heya! Welcome back! (waves)

Toli: Yami and Tea falling in love? No. Especially after the chapter after this (Chapter 11). It will be IMPOSSIBLE then for them to fall in love. I hope that doesn't disappoint you or something, but no, no Yami/Tea!

Mena: But there's plenty of gore!

Toli: (rolls eyes) (sarcasm) And yeah, that's a GREAT replacement.

* * *

**Silver Moon Phoenix**

Mena: Hi, all...(stops and does head count) four of you! Wow. Four! That's a lot of people. And all because you all like the story? Awww, how sweet!

Toli: Yep, that's one of the reasons this is AU. A few more are: Tea's a slayer, Yami's a vampire, Yugi's a half-vampire, vampires exist, Tea is meaner than in the real series, Tea uses a gun, Joey has a crush on Tea, Duke is a slayer, Mai is a slayer, slayers exist--you get it.

Mena: Isn't AU fun? Anyhow, thanks for the review from all four of you!

* * *

**Phoenix727**

Mena: Hi guys! (waves)

Toli: Oooh, sledgehammer. I need to upgrade my choice of weapons from a frying pan...

Mena: Haha, Short and Low! Good one! Anyway, we're glad you enjoy all or stories, let me say for both of us, we're honored that you bothered to tell us so!

Toli: It's a great honor to get cool compliment like those!...And now we sound REEEEALLY hokey...

Mena: Don't blame me about the evil Yami, by the way, blame Toli. She was going to make the villain someone else, but that was BEFORE she watched the episode where Yami used the Seal of Orichalcos. Wasn't that episode awful? Anyway, Toli saw how evil Yami could be and decided to make one of those bad-guy-you-love-to-hate villains. Amazing what ideas TV can plant in your head!

* * *

**kameeko**

Mena: Yay for fluff!

Toli: Sister, the fluff is OVER. It's about to get horrible in here!

Mena: Oh...

Toli: Anyway, glad you didn't skip Chapter 7. I skip lemons too. I just can't read those. How do people sit down and just write something like that is what confuses me. Hmm. Maybe I'm too young to understand...

Mena: We ARE only 16. But still, I don't think I'd get it if I was 40.

Toli: Hmm, yeah. Anyway! What was I saying? Oyeah! Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Masami, Mistress Of Fire**

Toli: (evil grin) Cinco, quatro, tres, dos, uno...

Mena: Damie-chan! (grabs Damion in a glomp) I'm so happy you love my piccy!

Toli: Yeah, you know, somebody sent me your chain letter, Masami. I sent it to my mom, my friends, and my sisters...

Mena: And I sent it to the judge's wife!

Toli: O.O WHAT?! YOU MEAN YOU KNOW THE JUDGE'S WIFE AND YOU COULDN'T TELL HER TO TELL HER HUSBAND THAT HE WAS IN GRAVE DANGER??!

Mena: Well...it just said send it...not deliver a message or anything...

Toli: (slaps hand to forehead)

Mena: Well, we gotta go and update the story! Bye, Damie-chan! (kisses Damion's cheek)

* * *

**kristen89**

Mena: Yes...isn't it nice when something nice happens to Yugi in the midst of chaos?

Toli: (arms crossed) Too bad it won't stay that way.

Mena: (sighs) Too bad...

Toli: Anyway, we checked out three of your fics, and we liked them! We hope you continue them. And thanks for the review!

* * *

Mena: Sister, we said Friday. It's still Thursday.

Toli: (indignant) What's wrong with a speedy update?

Mena: Nothing! I'm for it! I'm just sayin'...

Toli: Yeah, well, you don't know what you're sayin'. Let's just move onto the story. We're too lazy to do the disclaimer!

**Warning: A few graphic descriptions in this chapter.

* * *

**

**TEN: Secrets Of The Vampires 2**

**THE NEXT NIGHT/MORNING**

Tea sat on the edge of the building's roof, crossed legs dangling above the street six stories away. The sun was coming up. She didn't feel like going home yet, however. Her night hadn't been the best of them all. Sure, she had single-handedly killed twenty-three bloodsuckers, breaking her own record, but other things were on her mind. Like the safety of her friends. She wanted to find Yami and tear off all his limbs. How dare he drag Joey and Serenity into this! Who did he think he was?

Her thoughts wandered back to what that little vampire had told her. _"My master is Yami, the leader of our sect, ruler over all vampires. He says that you must convince his younger brother to become a vampire, and then you must turn yourself in to him all within twenty-four hours or he will kill them both and let us divide them up amongst ourselves. Not only that, if you try to deviate in any way from the terms of this deal, my master will unleash every vampire under his reign on the day of darkness." _She knew she had to save them at any cost, since they were innocent, but the demands were harsh. She knew that Yami wanted to kill her; he had said so himself. She practically lived for killing vampires after dark, to avenge her parents and now her aunt. And she knew she herself was one of the best. It would be hard to give that up, but necessary if it would save her friends.

The worst part was that she had to go find Yugi and actually speak to him. She wasn't sure if she wouldn't be able to kill him on sight. She hated him. He had played her for an idiot and she had fallen right into his trap. At least now she knew that it was impossible to trust any vampire, no matter whether or not they were half-human. But what could she do with that information? If things went as Yami planned, by this time tomorrow, she would be a corpse and the vampires' biggest obstacle would be gone. What could she do? Maybe there was a way to save her friends without holding up her own part of the deal. She just didn't know. All she knew was, if she was going to have a chance to help Joey and Serenity, she needed to know where to find them.

"Where else?" Tea said aloud. "The S.V.H., of course, since no slayer knows where that is. But where is that?"

Suddenly, the sun's light darkened. Tea looked up to find the sky covered by storm clouds. Distant thunder could be heard.

"Of course," she said. "The weather was predicted to be a thunderstorm today." That meant it would be dark all day, and wouldn't let up until well after night. Her eyes widened as she realized what this meant. Vampires weren't restricted to nighttime hours; they could come out whenever they felt like as long as it was dark. She knew this from experience. She had had this problem last year with a long rainstorm.

"So," Tea said, standing up, "this must be what that girl meant. This must be that day of darkness. I've got a whole day to investigate." She smiled grimly. It seemed a good excuse to cut school.

* * *

Yami sat on the shore, at the edge of the water. Beside him sat Serenity, knees pulled up to her chest, arms resting on her knees, face buried in her arms. He had an arm around her shoulder, but it was only to ensure her she could not get away if she tried. She didn't bother of course, which pleased Yami to no end. Everything was going according to plan, and soon Tea the slayer would be dead. _I've been hunting you down for four years, _Yami thought. _And now the hunt will be over at last._

He heard a faint sound that sounded like metal scraping against metal and winced. They were _still_ hungry. _Well, don't worry, my friends, _Yami thought with an evil smile, _you'll have another to add to your meal soon enough._

"Master."

Yami turned his head and saw Rebecca standing behind him, a black globe in her hands. "The humans have been sent to the waters, master," she said in an emotionless voice, "including the friend of the slayer that you requested."

"Good," Yami said. He felt Serenity stiffen under his arm at Rebecca's words. "Go and tell the vampires of Ambit that I expect to meet them soon concerning the night of destruction."

Rebecca nodded and bowed. "Yes, Master Yami." She backed into the misty shadows of Ambit.

Yami stood up and offered Serenity a hand. She took it, not really having a choice, and he helped her stand up. She looked up at him with angry eyes. "You won't get away with this," she told him.

"Yes I shall," he responded with a smile that revealed his fangs. He turned, still holding her by the wrist. "Come. I have many things to do, and I'm not letting you out of my sight until they're done."

"What are you going to do to Tea?" Serenity asked fearfully.

Yami smirked. "That's the best part of my plan, Serenity Wheeler."

* * *

Her senses alerted her. She could smell fresh blood nearby. She had been eager to go out in search of food ever since the sky darkened. According to the human weather forecasts, it was supposed to be dark all day. And they were always right about the weather. She walked along, in no hurry. She had already eaten plenty during the night, but another snack before a nap back in her home in Ambit wouldn't hurt anyone.

Her red eyes gleamed at the sight of a woman exiting a store building. She was locking up. Her back was turned to the street, and her attention was focused on locking the door properly, which she seemed to be having a hard time doing. _Perfect for sneaking upon, _the vampire thought, trying to control herself. She wanted to enjoy this.

Walking steadily and quietly, the vampire snuck up behind the young woman. She was obviously getting frustrated. She wanted to be safe at home before the thunderstorm could kick up, and in her hurry she was putting all the wrong keys into the lock. She was so busy getting mad that she didn't notice the figure behind her until an arm went around her neck.

The keys dropped to the sidewalk in a melodic jingle. The young woman tried to gather breath to emit a scream, but she could barely breathe.

"Don't bother," the vampire said. "You wouldn't get too loud. I could kill you right here, but I like doing it my own special way." Without warning, the vampire leapt several yards into the air with her victim. She abruptly released her hold, and the young woman plunged to the ground, coughing all the way. When the vampire came back down, the young woman was obviously dead, her eyes still wide open in shock, and blood was oozing from a huge cut in her head and making a puddle. The vampire propped up the body and drank her fill. She stood up straight and licked her lips clean.

"Like cracking a nut on a stone," she said triumphantly, dismissing the now useless body.

"How about I crack _you_?"

The vampire barely had time to look up and find the voice before she heard a gunshot. The bullet entered her flesh and released the ultraviolet poison it held inside, destroying her insides as effectively as acid. Tea stared down at the remains of the murderess and ran east, already tracking another vampire.

* * *

"It's dark," Yugi surmised.

Solomon came and looked out the window. "Yes, it is," he said. "I suppose that destroys our plans to go shopping for clothes this afternoon." He returned to cleaning up the floor. Yugi felt guilty for bleeding all over Solomon's floor.

As if reading Yugi's thoughts, Solomon spoke. "You don't need to blame yourself, Yugi. It's not your fault someone tried to shoot you."

_Yes it is, _Yugi thought, staring at his reflection in the mirror. His fangs were back, and his skin had taken on its white pallor again. _It's my fault because I'm a vampire._

Suddenly, the lights went out in the house. Yugi jumped in surprise. He stayed still for a moment to let his eyes adjust, and then he could see straight through the darkness. He heard the boom of thunder in the distance.

"Well," Solomon said, standing up. "It seems as though the power has gone out. Hopefully it will come back on soon; I rather like being able to see where I'm going." He felt his way to the window, the only source of rather minimal light, and stood beside Yugi.

Someone knocked on the door. Solomon turned. "Now who could that be?" He felt his way to the shop's door, unlocked it and opened it. "Why, hello, Tea, what are you doing out at this hour in this storm?"

_Tea? _Yugi's blood ran cold. Did she know Solomon? He crouched behind the counter as Tea answered the old man. "I was...um...shopping for a new wardrobe. I decided to check on you and make sure you were all right."

"Well, of course I am," Solomon said. "Why don't you come in before you get struck by lightning on the top of your head? While you're here, you can meet someone..."

"We already know each other," Yugi replied, standing up, even though he was pretty sure they couldn't see him. Well, maybe Tea could, with her special vampire-hunting abilities.

Tea squinted through the darkness, and then her eyes flashed. "It's you," she said. She stalked forward until she was inches away from him, looming over his head. "Do you realize that your older brother has kidnapped my friends?"

Yugi gasped. "You mean Serenity and Joey?" he said. "I didn't know that, Tea!"

"You should have!" Tea yelled. "Aren't the two of you in cahoots with each other?!"

"No, we're not!" Yugi cried. "You never gave me a chance to explain before--"

"I didn't need to!" Tea cut in. "Now, listen to me. Part of the only way I can save my friends is if I convince you to become a full-fledged vampire."

Yugi was silent for a moment. Then he spoke. "Why should I help you? Once they were saved, you'd probably destroy me. You won't even listen to me or let me explain what happened that night--yet you want my unobstructed help. Why would I ever do that for you?"

They stared at each other silently. Solomon didn't interrupt. Finally Yugi said, "I'm going to make a deal with you. I'll go along with whatever plan you obviously have if you give me a chance to tell you what happened that night."

"You won't need to," a voice said out of nowhere. Once again, Tea felt the presence of a vampire, besides Yugi, near her. When it went away, she and Yugi found themselves standing on a cliff jutting over a wild body of water. Tea's weapons were both gone. The sky was dark and cloudy. Yami stood in front of them.

"How...?" Tea began, but Yami cut her off. "There are many things about vampires that humans don't know," he said. He wore a smile that looked particularly more evil than any others. "And since you are about to die, I have no qualms explaining everything."

**END CHAPTER

* * *

**

Toli: Yay! It's totally scarified now!

Mena: (huddled in the corner, clutching a blanket) Happy thoughts...happy thoughts...

Toli: (satisfied grin) Yes, _now _you must be in fear. Coming UP! The entire story behind Yami and Yugi, plus a few other things to freak your mind! See you then!


	11. The Past

**RESPONSES**

**

* * *

Silver Moon Phoenix**

Toli: Look, sister! I scared them all into the corner!

Mena: ...Uh...yay?

Toli: Yep, dark skies means evil approaches. And so do dead batteries. It's a fact. Anyway!

Mena: Rebecca _is_ an evil little vampire, isn't she? Man, thinking of that episode where Yami used the Seal makes me shiver. It also makes me think of the newest episodes. Damn that suspense! I'm being driven up a wall here!

Toli: Anyway, thanks for the review! And oh! Since I am getting in the habit of making prezzies, I have a prezzy for Pluto! (prezzy is short for "present" NOT "president"!!!) Here you go! It's a Disintegrator 3000 Helmet! Just wear it on your head, and whenever Killer Pancakes show up, the little automated laser on the top will...well, _disintegrate_ them! Hahahaha! An ingenious invention!...Okay, let's all move on now.

**

* * *

**

**Masami, Mistress Of Fire**

Mena: (hugs Damion tightly) DAMIE-CHAN!!! MY KOI! I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU! WELCOME BACK! (kisses Damion's lips) I'M SO GLAD THAT WHOLE CANADIAN MAFIA THING IS RESOLVED! NOW WE CAN BE A HAPPY COUPLE!

Toli: (stares) ...Mani, you were recording, right?

Mani: (drops camcorder) Yep! (runs up and hugs Masami's legs) Hi, Masami!

Toli: Aww, now she's attached to you! In more ways than one! Well, I guess you can keep her until the chapter's over.

Mani: Really? Yay! New friend!

Toli: I contacted the judge's wife under the alias of Mena. I can pull that off y'know, since we're twins and all. Anyway, she says she'll let her husband know about the imminent danger. But wait! What if the wind comes after...your family??? And your other friends besides me? What will we do?

Mena: It better not come after Damie-chan! (hugs Damion possessively)

Toli: Like Masami said, keep it G-rated, Damion...I mean Mena. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

**

* * *

**

**Eve-Of-Misery**

Toli: Yep, we did!

Mena: Yeah, we're kinda famous for that. Thanks for the review and no worries about losing track, we do that all the time too!

Toli : (grumbles) Just tell the world, will you...

**

* * *

**

**kameeko**

Mena: Yami's evilness is supposed to be scary, so, I guess Toli's doing her job!

Toli: As a fanfictiondotnet writer, it's my job to break the trends of Yami evilness, like I break all other trends. And yep, it means violence. Hahaha! Violence! Thanks for reviewing!

**

* * *

**

**Phoenix727**

Mena: Since I'm the romance writer, I'll tell you in advance: we decided to have some sidenote Tea/Joey, but not too much, so don't worry, it won't end up like some twisted love story or something.

Toli: Darn...you're stuck in blimp days? That sucks majorly. It doesn't even get REALLY good until the Waking the Dragons season, I'd say. Yeah, you're missing some drop-dead suspense. I feel sorry for you guys. Oh, yeah, and Valon--he sucks. Just wanna get that off my chest.

Mena: He's ruining Joey's chances with Mai, and Toli doesn't like that is all. Hmm. You sure about that bloke thing? I coulda sworn that was a Spanish word...

Toli:...(sweatdrops)

**

* * *

**

**sabishii kitsune**

Mena: (stares at all the reviews from sabishii kitsune) WOW. Awesome! Hi and welcome!

Toli: Thanks for all the reviews! I love vamp stories 'round the campfire too. In fact, that's where the idea for Slain came from--a Yu-Gi-Oh-themed vamp story I thought up around a campfire.

Mena: Yeah, a lot of people say that Yami makes a hot vamp villain. I have to say, I like him better on the good side, but this is mainly my sister's story, so--

Toli: So that means Yami's a hot vamp villain! Yay! (throws confetti for no reason) Glad you like the trivia. It's fun to write. And I like thinking of Yami swearing too. Sounds all vampy and evil. And I so agree--what's with all the Tea/Anzu haters? People say she says too many friendship speeches, but after the Duelist Kingdom season, she doesn't seem to say much about friends, except that she sticks with them, but that's all.

Mena: Anyway, thanks for the reviews and hope you enjoy!

**

* * *

**

**kristen89**

Toli: Glad you like!

Mena: Yay! No death threats!

Tol: Yep, it's time to reveal Yami and Yugi's shadowed past! And not only that, the secret to some of Yami's powers will also be revealed!

Mena: Exciting, ne? Thanks for reviewing!

**

* * *

**

**YamiYugimoto92**

Toli: Hey and welcome to our vampire world!

Mena: We're so glad you gave our vamp fic a chance. It means a lot!

Toli: Thanks for reviewing and hope you enjoy this chapter!

**

* * *

**Toli: You're back! Wuahahahahaha! 

Mena: NOOOO! SAVE ME FROM THIS PIT OF EVIL!

(crickets)

Toli:...Um, yeah.

Crickets: They don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

**

* * *

**

**ELEVEN: The Past**

(**WARNING:** SOME GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS. AND WE MEAN IT.)

Yami's gaze never wavered. "Several decades ago, I was born," he said, as if narrating a story. "I was born a full-fledged vampire to my father and mother. Almost the same night I was born, a slayer destroyed my mother. My father was enraged and vowed to wipe out the vampire slayers at any cost. He raised me to feel the same hatred for your kind. Of course, I did, considering I was without a mother.

"One night fifty years later my father went out to eat. He found a human woman. Somehow he was attracted to her, and they became 'friends'. Too good friends, perhaps, because soon after the human had a child from my father. It was Yugi. Because of his mixed parents, he was forced to become a monster incapable of resting on either side of the line. Even though I couldn't stand the woman, I did enjoy having a younger brother.

"When the vampires found out about my father's treachery, they did not take it lightly. They murdered him and killed that woman. Right in front of my eyes. I will never forget the sight of their headless bodies lying on the ground in a pool of blood, their heads disposed of like useless trash. They wanted to kill Yugi as well, in the same manner, believe it or not, to keep him from passing on his curse to any kids he might decide to have. I refused to let them, saying that we could simply transform him into a full-fledged vampire instead of go to such extreme measures. At first they didn't want to, but my position was a good persuasion."

"I talked to that minion of yours," Tea cut in. "She said you were the ruler of vampires. Is that true?"

"Not entirely," Yami said. "I am ruling over the vampires that reside in this city, but there are hundreds I've never even met. The job was passed down to me from my father. That's the only reason I was able to spare Yugi's life.

"Because of my anger from my experiences, I took it out on you inferior humans. I killed more of you than I needed to, mostly because I needed a way to vent my anger. Sometimes I would sneak into human institutions and destroy all of the people inside. I did so one such night about, hmm, let's see, four years ago. I went into one of those ridiculous places called a 'movie theater' and killed all of the people inside. Naturally, I caused plenty of pandemonium. In one of said rooms, I found a family: a mother, a father, and a human female about twelve years old. I murdered both adults but didn't catch the child. You had adorable eyes back then, Tea."

Tea's eyes widened. "You," she said in a dangerous tone.

"Oh yes, me," Yami said. "It was I who killed your parents. I would have killed you as well had you not hidden yourself behind that body near the exit. So I guess it's my fault you are so talented in being a vampire slayer. Since I have been back in this city I recognized you from the theater and realized the aforementioned truth. Ever since I have sought out to fix the problem, and now I shall."

Tea clenched her fists and teeth. Her whole body was shaking. The one vampire she had sought out all this time--it was Yami. He was responsible for the death of her parents. She thought back to the first night she had seen him. She had had no idea she'd been so close to killing her parents' murderer. A horrible memory came back, one she had suppressed for years.

_She was on her knees. Her eyes were filled with fear. All around her, the screams were deafening. The ones of those still alive, that is. She watched the tall, dark figure grab somebody by the back of their shirt and tear their neck open. Blood spurted out as liquidy silhouettes against the brightness of the movie screen that was still playing. _

'What do I do?' she wondered, terrified as she watched the same fate come to three other people, one a boy who didn't look much older than herself. Blood was everywhere. The figure murdered someone near her, and drops of blood splashed on her face. She felt a chill go up her spine and she tried to wipe the blood off her face, holding in her tears.

Her mother was dead. Her father was dead. Her father had been the first one the figure had killed. He had gotten up and headed for the exit to get some popcorn. He was dead at the entrance. Her mother's body was near her, but she couldn't look at it. 'Mommy...Daddy...they're both dead...what do I do?'

Her fears rose in her throat as she watched the coldhearted figure come closer. He was currently attacking a young couple, but any minute he would see her. She had to hide. Just as she was about to seek out a hiding place, the figure turned, and their eyes locked. Petrified azure blue met heated crimson. She crawled backwards underneath the seat and ignored it as the components that supported it scratched her legs. She curled up into a ball and, after a moment of nausea, pulled her mother's body closer to the chair to shield herself from view. She could feel tears running down her face, and she tried to control her shivering as she watched the figure's dark shoes approach the seat she hid under.

Then, someone else who ran by, screaming for help, diverted the figure's attention. The shoes left their position in front of the chair, and she took the opportunity to crawl out and sprint for the side exit. She was almost there when she saw the figure go back to the chair she had been hiding under and tear it up. Fear paralyzed her and she couldn't move. But she managed to move enough to hide behind the body of an overweight man. She avoided looking at his face but simply curled up into a ball and tried to zero in on the sound of the figure moving around. She peeked over the body she was hiding behind and saw the figure go after someone else. She raced for the door, feeling eyes suddenly upon her, but she couldn't stop and shoved the door with all her might. It swung open, and she bolted out into the cold night, tears streaming down her cheeks and washing off the blood that was smeared there.

"I can see how angry that makes you," Yami said. "Good. I like human anger. It amuses me, and it makes blood tastier."

Yugi took a step forward. "But--why? Why would you do that?"

"Because I'm supposed to," Yami put in. "As a vampire I prey on humans. Isn't that obvious?" He smiled again. "And as the ruler over these vampires, I also get some control over time."

"Time?" Tea questioned. Then her mind clicked. "You sped up time that day I accused Yugi of murder."

"That's also how I got away so quickly all those times you saw me," Yami said. "And, when you were being attacked by that pathetic vampire slayer and when Tea was about to shoot you," he went on, turning to Yugi, "I used the power I had over time to move you somewhere safer. Is anything becoming clear yet?"

"But, if that's true, why didn't you just speed up time all the time until it was night?" Yugi asked.

"Because my power is limited. My speeding up time is usually only strong enough for a once-a-year thing," Yami replied. "This particular year it has gotten stronger."

Yami's evil grin faded. "Then Yugi began acting strangely. He seemed repulsed by our regular nature. He told me he wanted to become human, and I was angry. I told him if he did, he would never see me again. Apparently it wasn't enough of a persuasion, because two months ago he ran away in search of a way to change himself. He distanced himself from me day and night, and had twice the time to get away since he became human when it was light. But I found him back here, in this city, living with humans. I have been determined ever since he left to see him as a full-fledged vampire. I know he wouldn't be so upset if he realized what he was missing."

"No," Yugi said. "I don't care what I'm missing; I just don't want to be a vampire."

"See how incredibly steadfast his resolve is?" Yami said, crossing his arms. "I wanted to make him lose faith in the oh-so-glorious human race he craved to be a complete part of, so I set him up. I took advantage of his weakness in order to show him how easily you humans could turn your backs on one another. Truthfully, he wasn't guilty of murder. _I _killed those two people you found that night, and he drank the blood. Then I claimed to have to go and murder some other human and left him to face your wrath. It went better than I had thought, but for some reason, he _still _wanted to become fully human. Then, in somewhat of an act of desperation, I kidnapped your human companions and told _you _to convince him to become a complete vampire."

"Why is it so important for you to make him a full-fledged vampire?" Tea demanded. "Why not just leave him alone?"

Yami laughed. It was a chilling laugh. "Because he's my brother, and I refuse to stand idly by while he tries to become an animal. It's in my nature."

Tea glared at him. "You are truly evil," she seethed.

Yami's eyelids dropped halfway. "Do you think I care what your opinion is?" he said. "Human thoughts don't faze me at all." He took a step forward, his evil smile returning. "And now that things are going my way, that won't be occupying your mind, either. Now that I am about to dispose of you, your friends no longer have any value, and I am going to do away with them both. Maybe, after they're dead, I will resurrect them and let them become vampires."

"So that's how you increase your numbers," Tea growled.

"One of the ways. And didn't I _say _there were a lot of things you didn't know about vampires?" Yami said. He stepped forward again. "Ever since you became a slayer, I have looked forward to this very moment." He grabbed both Tea and Yugi by the arms and dragged them to the edge of the cliff. "Take a good look at that water. Notice anything...unusual?"

Tea and Yugi peered over the edge. The water was black, mirroring the misty darkness, and where it beat against the sides of the cliff and several sharp rocks it churned white. Tea watched it carefully, and then realized she could hear faint screams.

"There's people screaming down there," Yugi breathed.

"That's right," Yami said. "This isn't some ridiculous body of water. It's called the Sea of Torture, and it is where every uncontrollable vampire waits to be fed. You see, there are a few of us that can't control our lust for blood, and even go so far as to desire the consumption of human flesh and bone, and those of us like that remain in this sea. Once every twenty-four hours, seventeen humans are dropped into this sea to be torn apart, limb from limb, and fed to the carnivores down there. It's been recently stocked up. The screams are humans futilely fighting for their lives while our more ravenous kind tears them apart like pieces of paper." Yami released a breath of air. "Sometimes they even worry me. If they're still hungry they'll growl. Their growl sounds like metal against metal. It's a rather unpleasant sound."

Tea glared down at the sea, her heart going out to the few surviving humans. Vampires were truly disgusting monsters.

"In case you were wondering, Tea," Yami said calmly, "we are all inside of the mists of Ambit right now." Tea's head jerked up to look at him. "Yes, our secret hidey-hole realm you have sought so hard after. Why would we keep the Sea of Torture somewhere on earth?" Yami sneered. "Do you like the decor?"

Before she could make her angry reply, she felt a hand on her back, and she was shoved over the cliff and plunged down to the waiting black waters.

Suddenly she heard Yami's voice right next to her. "I'm speaking to you through time to be sure you can hear every word," he said with an audible smirk. "The darkness in your world is something I created, in case you wondered. It look a lot of energy, mind you, and I'm rather exhausted. Storms are hard to make. I'm setting every vampire I control out to destroy the city, simply because I don't like this place. I thought that would be something nice for you to think about before you are killed. Oh, and one more unpleasant thing. If hitting the rocks doesn't kill you, you should be dead in a matter of seconds once my kind down there discovers you. Really, seventeen humans aren't exactly enough to feed one hundred of them." Then there was an evil laugh from above.

Tea didn't scream as she fell. She wouldn't. She refused to give the beast that kind of satisfaction. She simply wrapped her arms around her head, pulled her legs up, and waited for impact.

**END CHAPTER**

**

* * *

**

Toli: WUAHAHAHAHHA! I AM DOING REAL EVIL!

Mena: O.O (shivers in the corner with safety blanket wrapped around her)

Toli: COME BACK TO SEE...WHETHER OR NOT TEA CAN ESCAPE...AND GUESS WHO WILL BE JOINING HER IN THE SEA OF TORTURE...WUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


	12. Into The Sea

**RESPONSES**

Mena: Hi, all! Since Toli isn't here to do the responds with me, Jesselda is going to help!

Jesselda: I figure why not, I'm already dead.

**

* * *

**

**YamiYugimoto092**

Mena: Yeah, it was a little short. That isn't our fault though!

Jesselda:...Yes it is.

Mena: Okay, so it is. Scary stories are fun, but not too many at once or you get horrible nightmares! (shivers) Anyway, thanks for reviewing! And by the way, the sequel to Home And Not Alone is up if you're interested!

**

* * *

**

**Veronica**

Mena: Hi! Welcome to the fic! Thanks for the awesome compliments!

Jesselda: The suspense is killing you...Great, now the twins will be arrested for another murder...

Mena: Thanks for reviewing!

**

* * *

**

**Masami Mistress Of Fire**

Mena: DAMIE-CHAN! (glomps Damion) I trust you've been taking good care of your Mena-chan plushie?

Jesselda:...Um...Hi, Masami...

Mena: (applauds) Good job, Jez!

Mani: Masami-sama! (stands on chair and hugs Masami's neck) I miss-ded you! I recorded all seventy of the messages Damion left Mena-sama on the answering machine...and I snuck into his room and made copies of all his love letters...and I taped this really funny thing where Mena-sama was kissing her plushie in her sleep! I think I gots about an hour of Mena-sama and Damion stuff on tape...

Jesselda: And I have a website.

Mani: And she's bribing me with chocolate!

Mena: Nice to see ya, Masami! Hope your family doesn't die! Wait...that sounds bad. Um...I have a pillow?

Jesselda: Do you know that damn wind of yours came after ME? I am NOT tolerating this! I summoned up some of my powers and destroyed the wind so...

Mena: No more kite-flying, I suppose. Anyway, thanks for reviewing and glad we shocked you!

**

* * *

**

**sabishii kitsune**

Mena: Yep, Toli's evil!

Jesselda: Mena, she just said she was having a moment. That means she didn't mean it.

Mena: Oh...well, anyway, you're welcome! Thank _you_ for giving us a whole bunch of reviews! Yes, 10th grade is _very_ brutal. What grade are we in? 11th! And it's EVIL! Enjoy the lighter workload while you can!

Jesselda: I haven't been in a school grade for about nine thousand and eighty-two years.

Mani: (pops up) I'm in second grade!

Mena: (pushes Mani's head back under the table) Nosy little sister. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

**

* * *

**

**Jennchow**

Mena: I like vamp fics too! Especially when Yami's a hot vamp. Those are the best.

Jesselda: Thank you for your review and welcome to the world of insanity and horror known as Mena's and Toli's imaginations.

**

* * *

**

**kristen89**

Mena: Yay! Tea's dead! Wait...no she's not yet...

Jesselda: You already knew that.

Mena: You're right! I did! Oh well! Hey! You can't hug Yugi all by yourself! (hugs Yugi)

Yugi: Now I really can't breathe...

Mena: Yugi being huggled forever doesn't seem like a bad thing, but I know what you mean! Thanks for reviewing!

**

* * *

**

**Silver Moon Phoenix**

**Mena: Hi, guys!**

Jesselda: It looks like a group of oppressed spirits/personalities/prisoners around one human to me.

Mena: Toli likes to make prezzies. You can ask for just about anything, and she can probably make it in about five days. Only catch is it'll most likely be square-shaped. I love the Waking the Dragons season too! It's so exciting! Have you seen the two newest episodes? Those are good!

Jesselda: Can we move on?

Mena: Yeah, sure, okay. Thanks for reviewing, guys!

Jesselda: Oh, and don't let Luna kill Yami. They still need him

**

* * *

**

**Ksaturn**

Mena: Yeah, I hope she can too!

Jesselda: (sweatdrops) _You _are the co-author. You don't have to hope!

Mena: Oh. Right. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

**

* * *

**

**kameeko**

Mena: Oh, you think so, do you? Well, only time and the latest chapter will tell!

Jesselda: You put too much suspense in everything, hikari.

Mena: I know. But it's fun that way! Anyway, I can't tell you what Yami will do...don't wanna spoil...but I _will_ tell you this, only because I like you guys and want to give you something to think about. One of the main characters (Tea, Yugi, Joey, Serenity, Yami) _is_ going to die. One of those five. You guys can think about that. I won't tell you which one, but I will say it's one of them.

Jesselda: You want to spoil it that much?

Mena: (shrugs) They have a one in five chance of guessing who it is. It's not bad spoiling. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

**

* * *

**

**Linkin-Phoenix**

Mena: EEEK! ANGER! (hides behind Jesselda)

Jesselda: (sweatdrops) Great, now my hikari's scared out of her mind.

Mena: (stares) Wow, look at all his shiny weapons...

Jesselda: Don't worry, I have popcorn. It's Mena's, but she's not eating it. (hands popcorn to Shadow Phoenix) Even though I'm not a fan of blood, I wouldn't mind seeing the action that is to come, obviously...

Mena: Thanks for the warning about the rating. We took it to heart, as you can see. And especially after this chapter, yeah... (notices) Hey! Jezzy, that popcorn was mine!

Jesselda: I know.

**

* * *

**Mena: Toli has pre-written this next chapter, handed it to me, told me to let you see it, and gone to get a cup of coffee and a few chill pills. She says, quote "This chapter was terribly fun to write, and makes me feel terribly evil, WUAHAHAHAHAHAHA," unquote. Because you all know I'm too sweet and innocent and sugar-happy to write something like this. 

Jesselda: Your sister is a psycho.

Mena: I know! Oh, yeah, and some of you may have happened to kinda sorta notice the new rating. Yeah, about that...Our sources tell us now is the time to raise the rating, and yeah...after this chapter, it's probably going to be necessary. So that's a warning.

Jesselda: Right. Let's see what this cue card says... "Chapter rated for graphic descriptions, blood, more blood..." Yeah, I think so.

Mena: Well, let's get to it! WDOY, no matter how hard we try, it'll stay that way till we die, but at least I'm not a guy. Here's the chapter

**

* * *

**

**TWELVE: In The Sea**

_Red blood, pooling all around. He carefully dipped a finger in it, reveling in the wonderful smell of it all. Bringing the finger to his lips, he tasted the blood. It was delicious. And it was all around him. His hands went down, seeking more of the mouthwatering liquid._

_The blood...it was everywhere. Its smell was overpowering. He wanted to see more of it. He wanted to see their blood everywhere. Someone ran past him, screaming. His lips curled up into a smirk as he easily reached out and grabbed them by the back of their shirt. His fingernails lengthened into claws, and he dug them deep into the flesh of his victim._

_Blood spurted out in a bright stream. He had hit an artery. He released his hold on the person and let them crumple to the ground, their lifeblood quickly leaving them. There was blood on his fingers now, and he licked it off. He turned, looking for someone else to kill._

_His red eyes searched for another victim. There were still several people alive, stumbling and falling over the bodies on the floor as they tried to escape him. He turned, and his eyes locked. _

Blue.

Shining blue, flashing with terror. It was a girl who looked just shy of 13. She was staring at him with obvious terror on her face. She was on her knees beside the dead body of a woman. Even through the smells of the blood already shed, he could smell hers well. It smelled better than most. She was next.

She had tried to hide herself underneath a chair, but he knew where she was. He walked over and stood in front of the chair, staring down at it. He could see her hands sticking out, despite her attempts to hide herself with the woman's body. His blood-streaked claws reached down to destroy her so-called hiding place.

Someone raced by behind him, screaming, "I'm calling the police!" He recognized the term and realized he didn't need human law enforcement here any sooner than possible. He turned and went after the man, grabbing him by the hair just a few feet away from the entrance. He sniffed, and then wrinkled his nose. The man's blood smelled terrible. The man was obviously a druggie. He settled for ripping the man's heart into shreds and dropped him on the floor.

He turned and made his way back to the chair. There were only a few people left in the dark room, and they all had severe wounds. Some still had the strength to scream; others were sobbing, and some were saying incoherent words and they drew their last few breaths. He wanted to hear the dying screams; he relished in it. For a while, just a little while, their screams drowned out the screams in his mind. The ones from his mother and father. The loudest and most chilling scream, from Yugi, who had barely escaped a little blood game he had been forced to participate in. 'He wouldn't have to suffer if humans didn't exist,' he thought. The thought made him angrier. Now he wanted them silenced. All of them. All of the filthy humans.

But first, the girl. The one with the blue eyes.

He went up to the chair and grabbed it by the armrests. He pulled it up from where it had been and let it drop to his side. The girl with the blue eyes was gone. His eyes narrowed as he tried to find the scent of her blood. Someone lying on the floor near his feet moaned. He stepped on them as he walked by.

'Where did she go?'

Suddenly, a movement near the corner of the dark room caught his eye. He turned and saw her, shoving open a door that led outside. He turned and walked that way. He reached the door before it swung shut and knocked it off its hinges. He stepped out into the cool night air, feeling his rising anger diminish some.

The girl was gone. Her scent was gone.

* * *

The first pain was only a slight one, from saltwater stinging her wide-open eyes. The second was worse, and it shot up her right leg and to her chest. The third attacked her left arm and seemed to migrate to her right. The fourth was a pain in her brain, a pain of coming death.

Tea pulled herself out of her ball, adding more pain. She could barely see through the dark waters, and she knew that was only because of her enhanced eyesight. She had no doubts that a regular human would be blindly waiting for their inevitable death. Tea was determined to fight for her life.

Kicking upwards, Tea searched for the surface. As of yet she couldn't sense any vampires coming near her, although the strong sense of them all around her bothered her. When she finally reached the surface she gasped for air, and that seemed to hurt her chest. She ignored the pain spreading all over her body and looked around for something to help her climb out of the water. She could feel her own blood flowing around her and knew she had to have hit one of the rocks.

Tea thought she saw land in the hazy distance, and she swam that way. Her left arm would not work right, for half of it was immobilized with pain and the other half numb from the icy water, so she was towing herself with her good arm. As good as it could be, that is; it hurt, too, just not as much as everything else. She thought she was getting closer-and hoped-when something surfaced in front of her. Years of seeing scary things in the night kept her from screaming in shock, but she nearly gagged when she saw the thing in front of her.

It was human-shaped, at least the part she could see, the shoulders and up. It had long stringy light hair, which strangely didn't look wet, and weird yellow and red glowing eyes that darted all over the place. Its fangs took up nearly half its face, and its tiny nose was covered in a very dark fluid. It looked like a build-up of blood. A strange rumbling sound was coming from its throat. But the skin was the worst part. It looked like melted plastic; wrinkled and covered in what looked like giant warts. It looked like a tortured doll that had been left in the oven too long.

"You must be one of the freaks set to dine on me," Tea said.

The thing opened its mouth and let out a terrible roar. It sounded exactly as Yami had described it; tons of metal objects being scraped together. Tea could barely contain her sanity from the horrible racket, which sounded worse than the creature looked. Then, as Tea watched, horrified and repulsed, it opened its mouth still wider until it looked like mouth of a lion. A terrible salty stench hit Tea in the face.

* * *

Yugi had his face in his hands, refusing to look down at the water. He could feel tears coming. Tea didn't deserve such a terrible death, no matter how many vampires she had killed. He could feel Yami standing behind him, and suddenly lost control of his anger. He whirled and struck Yami across the face as hard as he could. Yami's face jerked to the side; his body leaned for a second. He was obviously not expecting that, and Yugi really wasn't either. He was too pent up to care, though. 

"You are a monster," Yugi said dangerously, his own eyes unknowingly beginning to glow with fury. "And you want me to become a vampire like _you_! So I can commit terrible crimes and simply not feel guilty!"

Yami stared at Yugi. A trickle of dark red, nearly black blood slipped from a cut on his lower lip.

"After what I've seen you do, I would _never _resign myself to becoming like you," Yugi said. "You are a terrible, horrible fiend, and I _hate _you!" Suddenly energized, he hit Yami again on the other side of his face. This time Yami was more prepared and only his head moved.

"Be reasonable," Yami stated, ignoring the new wound on his cheek.

Yugi backed up a few steps. "No," he hissed. "I will do no such thing." His eyes were filled with hate and anger, and through the burning rage, he could feel sadness. Yami advanced, and Yugi retreated again. "Don't touch me," he warned.

"Yugi, stop being ridiculous," Yami said. "You know you have vampire blood inside of you. True, you have human blood too, but which one do you think controls your life more? You're supposed to be a vampire, Yugi. It's inevitable."

Yugi stared dumbly at Yami, his mouth slightly open. The anger inside of him was slowly extinguished, as if it were a flame snuffed out. Yugi sank to his knees and felt tears slide down his face. Was he doomed to have something so vile a part of him forever? He was determined not to let it be so. "It can't be true," he whispered, putting his hands to his face. He collapsed on one side and kept his hands in front of his face, refusing to look at his brother. All of the pain and exhaustion and fear and confusion that had been perpetually shifting through his mind seemed to converge on him, tiring him out to a seemingly unbelievable extent. He just wanted it to be over. He wanted there to be some way for him to make it out of this.

He could sense someone next to him. Yugi didn't bother to look. He just tried not to start sobbing. He felt someone lift him up off the ground and cradle him in their arms. He knew it was Yami, but he just didn't have the energy to fight him. He just wanted to fall over dead. He wanted to be able to take Tea's place. He wanted to be able to go back in time and stop Yami from murdering Tea's parents. To stop his own parents from having him. His mind was numbed with depression.

_Why me? _Yugi thought.

* * *

"Why me?" Yugi sobbed. "It's not fair. It isn't my fault my mother was a human. Why does everyone hate me for it?"

Yami wrapped his arms around his upset little brother. "It's just in their nature," he replied. "You don't have to worry about it, though. I won't let anybody hurt you."

Yugi buried his face in Yami's shirt. "It's not fair," he whispered. "I didn't do anything to anybody. I wish I was dead."

"Now don't say that," Yami said, pulling his brother away he could look him in the eye. Watery amethyst met concerned crimson. "There's no reason for that, Yugi. Not all the vampires hate you. Mako likes you, doesn't he? And I like you too. They'd all like you."

"Then why don't_ they?" Yugi asked, starting to wipe away his tears. _

Yami sighed. This was hard. He was still so young, and couldn't understand the force behind hate as well as someone older. "Because you're different," he said. "They think because you have human blood inside of you, that makes you weaker than them. But the both of us know that isn't true. When you grow up, you're going to be just as strong as any vampire. Even stronger, I bet. And then they'll see what a mistake they made."

"Really?" Yugi asked hopefully.

Yami reached out and wiped the rest of Yugi's tears away himself. "I promise," he said, smiling. Yugi smiled back and hugged his older brother.

**

* * *

**

"So, you wanna eat me, do you?" Tea said to the monster. It gazed back at her with its strangely vibrating eyes like it was listening to her conversation. "All right, let's see how good you are. Come get me."

The monster watched her for a few moments. Then it opened its mouth wide again and lunged at her. Tea dived underwater, the creature's long fangs barely missing sinking into her skin. She grabbed a thin rock sticking out of the ground underwater nearby and used it to propel her good leg into a kick. She hit the monster right in the stomach and sent it flying away. It stopped itself in the water a few yards away, rubbed its stomach in pain, and came at her again. Tea broke off the rock near the middle and thrust the sharp point at the monster's face. It screamed as the rock's point stabbed its eye. It sank down into the water, and Tea continued her hurried swim to the gray shore.

Suddenly, a loud yell to her left stopped her in her tracks. Tea turned. It sounded so familiar. Her heart sank when she realized who it was.

"Hey! Somebody! Anybody! Help me!" Joey was screaming. He was thrashing around in the water, trying to stay afloat. Tea turned and started swimming quickly towards him, the cold water numbing her pain-filled limbs and enabling her to go faster. She reached him just as another of those creatures did. This one had a slash on its cheek, like someone had put up a fight before being consumed, and black liquid that Tea assumed was blood was oozing out of it. It opened its mouth and came at Joey. Joey, of course, couldn't see it, and continued to yell for help. Tea sliced through the water towards the creature and attacked it, flinging her entire body at it. She knocked it away, and Joey, hearing the noise, quieted and turned to where Tea was, his eyes filled with fear.

"Don' tell me I'm so tasty you bloodsuckin' freaks gotta fight ova me?" Joey joked in frightened voice.

Tea reached for his arm. "Nope, sorry, I don't dine on other humans."

Recognition and relief dawned in Joey's eyes. "Tea?"

"Yeah." Tea grabbed his arm. "I'll lead you to shore." She started swimming with him following.

"Oh yeah, you can see through this pitch black, can't ya?" Joey said as they kept swimming.

"Yes," Tea answered, hearing another metal growl to her left. It was distant, however. "Where's Serenity? She isn't here somewhere too, is she?"

"No," Joey growled. "Dat creep Yami took 'er somewhere. I dunno where. I jus' hope she's okay."

"We'll find her, I promise," Tea said. They finally reached the shore, and Tea clambered out of the water, followed by Joey.

"How?" Joey asked.

Tea felt a steely determination to save both Serenity and Yugi, and the whole city, if she could just try hard enough. "Somehow. We will somehow."

**END CHAPTER**

**

* * *

**

Mena: Toli! You're back!

Toli: (carrying coffee, chill pills, and Prozac) Yep! But now that I've calmed myself down, how will I get in the right mood to write a scary story?

Mena: Um...Yami's a villain?

Toli: He is? (effects of coffee, chill pills, and Prozac reverse) AHAHAHAHA! THE EVIL WILL CONTINUE!

Jesselda: O.o; (sweatdrops)

Mena: (sweatdrops) I knew that'd work.


	13. Destroy The City!

**RESPONSES

* * *

**

**Yami Silverdramon**

Toli: Hey, and welcome to the fic!

Mena: If you wanna find out what happens next, you better read on!

* * *

**kameeko  
**Toli: Hey, guys!

Mena: Well, thanks for guessing, but unfortunately, we can't tell you who it is. But, um, sister, can I tell them?

Toli: Well...all right.

Mena: Yay! Okay, I'll tell you. One of you is right! And that's all! Too much of a spoiler? Wait and see!

* * *

**sabishii kitsune  
**Mena: YAY! YOU FOUND IT!

Toli: (rolls eyes) Cut it out with the hyperactivity, will you?

Mena: Sorry. Yep, we're juniors. We have a bunch of college friends, like our pal Escha.

Toli: Sounds like you have some interesting classes! I hate math too.

Mena: I love it!

Toli: You're the only one. I tell you, algebra sucks. Yes, nosy little sisters are the pits (glares at Mena). Mena's three minutes younger than me, so she counts as a younger sister. And Mani isn't too nosy or bratty. She's actually a sweet little girl, and she's cute. Which means she just hasn't spent enough time with Mena.

Mena: Hey! Not funny!

Toli: I wasn't sick. I guess. The evil was just getting to me, is all. Hopefully it won't affect you in the same way, though. Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Silver Moon Phoenix  
**Mena: Hi, guys! Thanks for not killing Yami, Luna! We kinda still need him...

Toli: We saw those two episodes too. I have never seen Kaiba spaz like that, you know? Speaking of Kaiba, have you seen the two latest episodes? I think the part where he and Mokuba buy that sports car is funny.

Mena: Is Luna a good yami? I was just wondering, because Jesselda says she likes Luna, and Jesselda is a very destructive yami, so that kind of scared me.

Jesselda: (on the other side of the room) You better not be calling me names over there.

Mena: Of course not! (nervous laugh)

Toli: Thanks for reviewing, guys!

* * *

**Masami Mistress Of Fire  
**Toli: Masami! (hugs Masami)

Mani: Masami-sama! (hugs Masami)

Mena: DAMIE-CHAN! (tackles Damion and covers his face in kisses)

Jesselda: (receives glomp and pat pat from Masami with frighteningly happy smile)

Toli: Sorry I missed you last time, Masami! I was dealing with my new addiction to evil! (smiles innocently)

Mani: (is videotaping Mena kissing Damion)

Toli: Wow, Jesselda destroyed the wind? Nice job, Jesselda!

Jesselda: (glares at Masami) Pat me again.

Toli: (sweatdrops) Uh, you better do it, Masami! It sounds like she means business! Wait...Jesselda, you WANT physical contact?

Jesselda: Yes I do. If it's from Masami. Now. (turns to Masami) I demand that you pat me on my head.

Mani: (still videotaping Mena and Damion, but tape runs out) Oh no! (runs off to get more tape and comes back with candy and a box) Um, happy...Prezidizident's Day, Masami-sama! (shoves box and candy into Masami's hands)

Toli: (thinking) 'is that the box with my rock in it?'

Mena: Okay, bye, Masami, and bye my koishii(beloved) hot sexy Damie-chan! We gotta go do the next chapter!

Toli: (still thinking) 'did Mom tell me to cook dinner?'

Mani: Byebye, Masami-sama! (hugs Masami) Byebye, Damion-sama! (hugs Damion)

Mena: Awww! But he's mine! (grabs Mani and walks away)

* * *

Toli: (eyes wide and bloodshot, hands jerking, fingers typing madly) Must...control...sanity...must...control...sanity...

Mena: How about I write this chapter? I can be as scary as you, remember?

Toli: (nods and downs six Prozac) Must...control...sanity...must...

Jesselda: The poor thing.

Mena: (pulls Toli away from computer) Okey doke, folks, here we go! We don't need a disclaimer anymore because we snuck into your house in the night and tattooed "WDOY" on your forehead while you were sleeping.

* * *

**  
WARNING: **Watch out for the upcoming Character Death!

* * *

**THIRTEEN: Destroy The City!**

Yami dragged Serenity up the stairs. He would have just jumped to the roof, but he didn't want her screaming in his ear. Currently she was just yelling and trying to break his grip on her arm. "You will not get away with this! Tea's gonna come and kill you and avenge Joey! And she'll save Yugi from you too!" Serenity was ranting. Now that she knew Yugi was innocent, she wanted Tea to get him away from vampires period before he became guilty. "Tea's gonna come and kick your can, mister! You just wait! She's probably already-"

"She's dead," Yami stated flatly. He shocked her so much that she stopped dragging her feet and started walking with him. "W-What do you mean?" Serenity stammered, afraid of the answer.

Yami stopped and turned to her, almost relishing the thought of deflating her little dream. "Remember that Sea of Torture I tossed your brother in? Well, a few moments ago, Tea got to join him. I'm sure that they're making excellent food for my more beastly subjects."

Serenity's eyes went wide, and her skin paled so much she looked like the cousin of a vampire. Her free hand flew to her mouth. "You...you didn't," she said in a hollow voice.

Yami pulled her closer. "Yes, I did, and if you don't shut up and do what I say Yugi's next, and then you." Turning, he started back up the stairs, with a thunderstruck Serenity following silently. Tea had gone in too? The thought was almost too much to bear. Tea was her best friend. They had been pals since kindergarten. Now she was...dead? A tasty meal for some psychopath vampire that lived in a sea? She felt tears filling her eyes as she sullenly followed the one responsible for this. She wanted to grab something and kill him where he stood, but she had heard his words. She didn't want him throwing Yugi into the "Sea of Torture". In her overwhelming grief she didn't even consider the fact that Yami may have been lying about what he would do with Yugi.

In truth, he was. He would never even _dream_ of putting Yugi in that sea. He was amazed she didn't even think of that. As evil as was, he knew that he had several times, in not so many words, expressed his concern about his little brother in front of Tea and her friends. But at least it shut her up. He carted her upstairs and to the roof, which was half as large as a football field.

Yami looked around, sizing up the roof. "Yes, this is perfect," he said.

"For what?" Serenity asked, genuinely curious.

Yami, after locking the door that led to the roof, released her arm. "You'll see," he said. He raised one arm, and suddenly, a black swirling portal appeared in front of them. It kicked up a wind that blew anything that could blow. Serenity watched the portal in amazement as her hair, loose shirt, and house shorts were blown straight back. Her eyes widened in fear as she saw figures begin to step out. Some were tall. Some were short. Hawkins' former daughter was among them. All had white skin, strangely colored eyes, and fangs, and were all dressed in black.

Vampires.

All of Yami's vampires.

When the last one had showed up, the portal slowly began to close, and the wind stopped. Yami smirked at his subjects. There were a lot of them, taking up almost all the space on the rooftop. Hundreds, if not thousands.

"Welcome to the last night this city stands," Yami told them. They all watched him with their eerie eyes, eternal evil glowing in them. "As I instructed, we are going to destroy this city from the foundation up and kill every person in it." His smirk widened when he heard Serenity's gasp. "If you find yourself taking pity on some poor soul you come across, put the pity to good use. Turn them into a vampire. And if you find a slayer, kill them on sight. No pity for any slayers."

"We understand," the vampires said.

Yami shrugged. "Well, don't sit here staring at my handsome face. Let's get going. You've got ten hours until the sun will come up. This place better be a dump by then." Then Yami grabbed Serenity's arm again and made her move over so the vampires could get by them. Serenity watched in horror as they all just jumped off the twelve-story building, landed safely on the ground, and started spreading in all directions. A few started in on the buildings next to them.

When the last vampire had jumped off the roof, Yami released Serenity's arm again. She backed away from him. What, was destruction his middle name or something? "All right, so why am I here? Did you want a witness to your evil orders?" she asked, glaring at him. She held her arm close to herself so he wouldn't grab it again.

"I guess that was part of it," Yami said, shrugging. "But I have better plans for you."

"Which are?" Serenity asked through gritted teeth.

Yami smiled, but it strangely wasn't a particularly evil smile. "I'm going to spare your life and instead let you become a vampire. I think you're too cute to be a bloodless corpse."

Serenity gasped and pulled back some more. "No!" she cried. "I'll never become a vampire! They're evil! And disgusting! And-and-"

"And it's not a choice," Yami said. "Nor can you pick B: Bloodless Corpse. You're going to be a vampire. Trust me, you'll like it a lot more once you've crossed over."

"B-But I don't get it," Serenity trembled, trying to stall and praying for a savior. "Vampires bite humans all the time and just end up killing them. How do you make somebody a vampire?"

"It's simple," Yami said. "Vampires actually have a kind of venom in their fangs. like snakes, only different. All you have to do is sink your vampire fangs into a certain artery in the subject's neck, the venom infects the subject, and, in a few moments, you have yourself a brand new vampire friend. It's quite the fascinating transformation. If you merely want to kill the subject for their blood, you sink your fangs elsewhere, or murder them first and then open them up for dinner. So that means if you move too much, I could end up killing you." Yami waved a solemn finger as if warning her and then advanced.

Serenity backed up some more. "No way," she trembled. "I won't just let you make me a vampire."

"And who's going to stop me?" Yami asked.

"Not so fast, Blood Brotha!"

Both Yami and Serenity whirled to find the voice. Yami tensed, and then quickly stepped to the side as a bullet flew past him.

Serenity stepped around him to see who it was, and her face lit up with joy when she saw it was Joey and Tea. "Joey! Tea!" she cried, running to meet them. Yami grabbed the back of her shirt before she could get far, however. "I could have sworn you were dead," he growled.

Tea still held the gun she had fired at Yami. "I guess you need to stop swearing, then," she told Yami coolly.

"Han's off my sista!" Joey ordered.

"You don't command me," Yami told them, his earlier smirk gone and replaced with angry, glowing eyes. He stepped forward, holding Serenity off the ground by the back of her shirt. "So, Tea," he said, an evil smile returning, "apparently you're more invincible than I thought. I hope you didn't show my little sea friends too bad a time?"

"Lucky for you I didn't have a weapon then," Tea said. She motioned to her gun and the sword strapped to her back. She had changed out of her wet clothes and into a black tank top and black jeans, with another trench coat over them. "But now I have mine back. A friend of mine found them in a dumpster, and when we met, she gave them to me. You need to find better ways of disposing of weapons."

"Apparently I need to find better ways of disposing of _you_," Yami snarled.

"Tea! Yami set all his vampires on the city and they're destroying it!" Serenity cried.

Tea nodded. "He told me. I noticed his handiwork on the way here. But I learned a little something you neglected to tell me, Yami." She cocked her gun for good measure. "If you destroy the leader, all the vampires under his reign-consequently tied to him-will be destroyed as well. So all I need to do is kill you and the rest will follow suit."

_What an easy solution, _Serenity thought with relief.

"Hmph," Yami sneered. "If you do that, how will you find Yugi?" His smirk widened when Tea's eyes narrowed. "I know you want him back. But you don't know where he is. And how do you know that _he_ won't be destroyed as well if you kill me?"

Tea looked almost as evil as Yami. Serenity wondered if she had thought of that.

"Look, pal," Joey spat. "I dunno what all dis is really about, but I do know ya betta unhand my sista!"

"Fine then," Yami said. "She wasn't too happy about becoming a vampire anyway." With one smooth motion, he hurled Serenity over his head and over the roof. "Help meeeee!" Serenity screamed as she plunged to the ground.

"_Serenity_!" Joey yelled.

In a flash Tea had run past Yami and jumped off the roof. She began to "run" down the side of the building, helping herself to fall faster. She caught up with Serenity and grabbed her around the waist. "Lift up your feet so they're higher than mine!" she told her.

Serenity obeyed and bent her knees. When they reached the ground, Tea landed on her feet, and then leaped back up to the roof. She put Serenity down and pointed her gun at Yami. "You've tried to hurt enough of my friends that I'm fed up with you," she said. "And for killing my parents, you will die tonight. You will not escape your punishment for what you did to my life four years ago."

Yami smirked. "Well, then, let the game begin. But you can't kill me if you can't catch me." He jumped off the other side of the roof. Tea ran to the side he jumped off and jumped off as well.

"Serenity!" Joey cried, running to his sister.

"Joey!" Serenity wailed. They ran into each other's arms, and Serenity started crying on her brother's shoulder. "I thought you were dead...Yami said he killed you and Tea!"

"Nah, sis, ya know I couldn' jus' leave ya at da mercy o' dat creep," Joey said, tightly holding his sister.

Serenity looked up. "Joey, what do we do? What if Tea kills Yugi by killing Yami? We've gotta find him and help him!"

"We'll get to 'im," Joey said. "And he'll be okay. Trus' me. We're gettin' us back into da Vamp Realm and gettin' Yugi."

"But won't we be attacked?" Serenity asked as Joey led her to the spot where all the vampires had been.

"Nope. They're all out here, rememba?" Joey reminded her. He reached out his hand and started pulling on something thin and black. "Dat's somethin' Tea taught me about entrances to Da Vamp Realm; they take a while t' close, so if ya catch 'em before they do, you can get in."

Serenity felt a little fear at going back into the vampires' home, but she knew she'd have to get over it, because they had to find Yugi.

END CHAPTER

* * *

Mena: See, Toli? I can write just like you!

Toli: (peers over Mena's shoulder with coffee in hand) Wow. You're right, you can!

Jesselda: Which is truly frightening.

Mena: Hey, what is that? (notices what Toli is putting into coffee) Is that...a sugar cube! SUGAR!

Toli: No! Down, Mena! Down!

Jesselda: (sweatdrops)


	14. The Fight

RESPONSES

* * *

darkfireblade 

Mena: Welcome! Glad you enjoy!

Toli: We aren't trying to gore you into regurgitation, so that's a good thing! Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

Vampirefrensy

Toli: Hah! Nice name!

Mena: This should be the perfect story for you, then!

Toli: Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

DmonXtrmN8r

Mena: Hey there!

Toli: Glad you liked it!

Mena: You'll just have to wait and see if Yami can turn good.

Toli: Yep, looks like it's time for the ancient art of butt bashing! Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

sabishii kitsune

Mena: Hi, Kitsune!

Toli: Your comments make me wonder what's in your vampire story. Are you going to post it soon?

Mena: Glad you like the chappie! Great minds do think alike, you know. That or one really great mind comes up with a killer idea, and a bunch of good minds find out and copy it.

Toli: (sweatdrops)

Mena: Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

kristen89

Toli: Haha, the terrible decision, isn't it? Who will have to die? Tea? Yami? Both? I love suspense!

Mena: Let's hug Yugi together! (hugs Yugi)

Toli: Hmmm, decisions, decisions.

Mena: Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

kameeko

Toli: I shouldn't have let you give them that spoiler, Mena. Look how you upset Kameeko!

Mena: Aw, Kameeko'll get over it. Anyway, Kamoray's happy!

Toli: True. Well, anyway, thanks for reviewing, guys!

* * *

Masami Mistress Of Fire

Toli: Masami! (hugs Masami)

Mena: EEEE! DAMIE-CHAN! (jumps on Damion)

Mani: Masami-twin! (hugs Masami) Toli-sama and Mena-sama told me about your story up! Congraterations, Masami-twin!

Mena: Speaking of congraterations, if you're going to be Mani's twin, you have to make up words, like 'congraterations' and 'malforktioning'!

Jesselda: Thanks for the pat.

Toli: Okay, we gotta go update! Bye, Masami!

Mani: (hugs Masami) Bye, twin!

Mena: (glomps Damion) Bye my sexy hot hunky koishii of heavenly hunk!

Toli: O.o (sweatdrops)

Jesselda: I'll grab the leash.

* * *

Linkin-Phoenix

Toli: Hi guys! First, we're REALLY sorry we didn't respond to your last review.

Mena: When we did the responds, we didn't see a review from you!

Toli: You know we wouldn't purposely exclude you guys, right?

Mena: Anyway, thanks a lot for reviewing!

Toli: Oh, come on, you don't want poor Wheeler to die! He's so...so...um...

Mena: (prods) Come on, sister.

Toli: So...uh...blond!

Mena: (sweatdrops) Um, sure.

* * *

Cataracta

Mena: Hey, and welcome!

Toli: Glad you like the story! Yami makes a hot villain you know!

Mena: Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

Silver Moon Phoenix

Mena: The chase continues this chapter.

Toli: Don't you wonder what Serenity would be like as a vampire?

Mena: I do. Anyway, yes, I loved the part where Kaiba and Mokuba bought the car! He just, like, whipped that pen out so fast. For a split second, I had thought it would be a gun.

Toli: Why would he have a gun? And why wouldn't he have a credit card, by the way?

Mena: (shrugs)

Toli: Maybe he's too proud for a Visa.

Mena: I suggest you discover what your yami's intentions are before it's too late. That's what I did, and I found out Jezzy used to be evil. But now she can almost be halfway fun at times!

Toli: It goes to show you what love, patience, and a bunch of M&M's can do.

Mena: Yep!

Toli: Thanks for reviewing, guys!

* * *

Ksaturn

Toli: Thanks for reviewing!

Mena: And thanks for the killer update!

Toli: Tea almost got raped...scary...

Mena: Good thing Yami showed up!

Toli: It's always a good thing when Yami shows up!

* * *

Toli: Great. Well, I'm sane again, but I can't say the same about Mena. 

Mena: (running around on the ceiling shaking salt shakers full of sugar) Sugar! SUGARSUGARSUGAR! Happy Sugar Eve!

Toli: (sweatdrops)

Jesselda: Well, let's move on, shall we?

Mena: Sugarsugarsugarsugarsugarsugarsugarsugarsugarsugar-

* * *

**WARNING:** Watch out for the upcoming Character Death!

* * *

FOURTEEN: The Fight

Tea followed Yami as he ran away from her. He was running very quickly. All vampires could run fast. That's why slayers could run fast as well. Beside her, she saw a vampire breaking into a department store and shot it as she ran by. Even though she was about to end the whole problem, it wouldn't hurt to shoot a few bloodsuckers on the way. She thought of what Yami had said. _"If you do that, how will you find Yugi? I know you want him back. But you don't know where he is. And how do you know that he won't be destroyed as well if you kill me?" _But she knew he knew that wasn't true, and she knew it too.

At least she hoped she did.

Yami jumped over a ten-foot fence, and Tea jumped over it as well. A snarling dog on a leash greeted them. Yami dodged it, and Tea jumped over it. They kept going.

Tea peeked at her cartridge counter. Four bullets left. And she hadn't brought any extra. She would have to watch how she used them. She saw a vampire in the middle of murdering a guy and shot it dead.

Yami jumped to the top of a nine-story building. Tea followed him, and found he had turned to face her.

"Did you enjoy the run?" he asked.

"Yes, it was quite pleasant," Tea said, pointing her gun at him.

"You know I could have left you far behind if I had wanted to," Yami said. "Remember, I have control over time."

"I noticed," Tea said. "But that doesn't mean I won't try to kill you."

Yami smiled. "Such a brave soul. It's sad, really. I could have made you into a vampire the first night we met, inside the movie theater. Then all that pent-up emotion could be going in a better direction."

"There is no better direction than wanting all vampires dead," Tea said. "Especially you."

"Well, let's just see what all that rage can do for you," Yami said. "I dare you. Fire at me. See if you can hit my cape." He was being so condescending.

"Come and get it," Tea said, and she fired.

She saw as Yami began speeding toward her, using his power over time to move even faster. The bullet sailed harmlessly past him as he came at her. She jumped over his head, turned, and fired again. Yami stopped and backed up, dodging again, and the bullet missed him. He backed up so fast, Tea couldn't react in time, and he grabbed her arm and threw her into the door leading up to the roof. Her momentum cracked and bent it, breaking two of its hinges, as she fell to the ground.

"How disappointing," Yami said. "Maybe you're better in faster fights."

Tea stood up, pain in her shoulders and back. The pain she had received back at the Sea of Torture was no longer bothering her, thanks to the "near-eternal" special painkillers that Mai had given her when she had given Tea the weapons. She glanced at her gun. One bullet left. She'd have to make it count.

"All right, playtime's over," Yami said. "I swore I'd kill you when I realized who you were, and I intend to keep that promise."

"Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing," Tea said, and she ran towards him. Yami dodged, but she turned and planted a foot in his stomach before he could get far. She knocked him a few feet away, staggering from the impact, but not falling down. He straightened and glared. "About time you started trying," he said. He ran towards her again. Tea jumped into the air to avoid him, but was surprised when he jumped up with her. His arm came at her in a blur, and something cold and hard slashed across her cheek. She felt the new pain as she tried to kick him again, but he moved away. They landed back down, and Tea wiped the already spilled blood off of her cheek.

Yami smirked and showed off a long, thin, bloodstained stiletto. "You didn't think I didn't carry any weapons with me, did you?" he said to her.

"What? No muscle to back up your threats?" Tea shot back.

"Don't get snippy," Yami replied. This time Tea charged at him. Yami jumped over her head, and when she looked up, she saw that he was about to plunge the knife into her back. She wouldn't be able to dodge in time.

_Make it count, _Tea thought. She pointed up her gun and fired. Yami hissed, and the knife fell from his hand. He landed back on the ground, glaring at her, as she slid her now empty and useless gun into its holster.

"Nice shot," Yami snapped at her. She saw a black-looking liquid nearly covering his right hand, and knew she must have shot it.

"At least you'll have battle scars," Tea said to him.

Yami smirked. "And so will you." He whipped something shiny from somewhere and attached it his left hand. "Want to see?" He showed off the long, deadly-looking, thin silver claws that were now strapped to his hand. "I carry these around because I think they're pretty."

"Then let's see them in action," Tea said.

"As you wish." Yami lunged forward, silver claws outstretched and ready to do damage. Tea whipped out her sword just as he struck, interlocking the claws with the sword with a deafening metal clash.

Tea, using a lot of force, shoved Yami and his pretty claws away from her enough to regain her footing and come at him. He used his own claws to block her sword. She pulled back and watched him. "I guess we're evenly matched now," she said.

"Perhaps," Yami said. "But, as I mentioned before, there are many things about vampires you don't know." He jumped forward again, claws outstretched. Tea blocked the attack and, while they were pushing their weapons against each other's, released the sword with one hand and punched him in the stomach. Yami, distracted, backed up, enough for her to kick him in the head and knock him a couple of yards away. Yami landed with a painful-sounding thud.

Tea watched from a safe distance, sword ready in case he tried a surprise attack. Yami slowly sat up, and Tea could see a spot off center on his forehead that would soon bruise. He looked up at her, and then he started laughing.

"Want to clue me in on the funny joke?" Tea said to him, trying not to let him know she was confused at why he was laughing.

Yami looked at her, evil dancing in his eyes. "You know, you are right," he said. "We would be evenly matched." He stood up. "_If _I didn't already have the element of surprise on my side. I told you there's many things about vampires you don't know. Now you're going to find out what one of them is."

Tea took a step back, hoping to be able to be ready for anything. Her mind conjured up wild possibilities, just in case any of them were true.

Yami lifted his bloody hand, and suddenly, a fire started and surrounded Tea. She stared in amazement.

"I'm not going to clue you in on the how," Yami said with another smirk. "You can just worry about if you're going to be rare or well done."

The fire began to close in on Tea. She covered her mouth and nose with a hand, looking for any escape. Then she remembered one. Mai had taught her. She called it the "wind trick"

_"Why on earth would a slayer need temporary control over the wind?" Tea asked. _

_"Trust me, it'll come in handy," Mai said, but she didn't say why._

_Tea sighed. "Okay."_

Tea raised her sword, and, as quickly as she could, sliced through the air, moving her sword from her left side to the right. Immediately, a harsh wind kicked up, knocking out the fire, and then went away. All in about two seconds.

"Maybe you're not the only one with the element of surprise," Tea said, stepping out of the burned circle.

Yami looked surprised. "So," he said, "some trick with the current of air. Fine, then. As I can only assume you can do that again, we'll forget about the fire."

"Good idea," Tea said, and she came at him again. She raised the sword again, and he blocked it again. She took the opportunity to kick him again. He was knocked back a little ways, and she attacked him with the sword again. Yami dodged away, but not before Tea sliced a small portion of his cape off. Yami turned and glared at her.

"Got your cape," Tea announced.

"I liked that cape," Yami told her.

"You won't need one after the fight," Tea informed him.

Yami came at her again. Tea raised her sword to block his claws. He kicked her in the stomach and knocked her down. She opened her eyes, and Yami's foot came down on her chest. Before she could knock it off, she saw his gleaming claws come her way and tried to move. They sliced across her arm. Tea gritted her teeth.

Yami's other foot came down on the new wound on her arm, and Tea couldn't help but cry out. While she was distracted, Yami snatched her sword and tossed it. She managed to push through the darkness of a pain-induced blackout and glared up at him.

"This is where it ends, Tea Gardner," Yami said, taking off his claws and holding them over her head. "It was nice fighting with you, but I can't drag this out any longer. I have a city to destroy and couple more lives to ruin." He smiled at her. It was an almost friendly smile. "But let me say that you were a worthy opponent. Just not worthy enough." He brought the claws down towards her head with a startling speed, like three sharp knives.

Tea squinted as she watched the claws come down. One extra second and they would slice into her head, killing her.

But they didn't.

The gun in Tea's hand went off with a loud bang. The bullet zoomed upwards and embedded itself in Yami's chest. He stopped, and dropped the claws. Tea caught them by their strap and threw them away from her.

"I told you you weren't the only one with the element of surprise," Tea said, still holding the tiny smoking gun in her free hand. It was her mega-emergency gun. One bullet in it, to be used only if the slayer was about to die.

Yami stared at her, nearly black blood leaking from the wound on his chest. Then he smiled again, and the evil glow in his eyes faded. "Yes, surprise, surprise," he said. Then he fell to one side.

Tea sat up, ignoring the pain in her arm, and watched Yami. His eyes were closed, and he transformed into a pile of dust. His pretty claws went with him.

"No!" Yami's little messenger had jumped up to the roof to see who her master had been fighting. She showed up in time to see him become a pile of dust. She stepped forward glaring at Tea, but before she could get far, her eyes took on a look of shock, and she transformed into a pile of dust. Tea ran to the edge of the roof and, down below, could see several other figures doing the same.

Tea turned back to the pile of dust that had been Yami. Then vampire she had loathed, the one that had murdered her parents, was finally dead. Her parents had been avenged. As had her aunt, and everyone else Yami had killed. It was over. All the vampires under Yami's reign were dead as well, as a result of Yami's death. Above her, the storm that Yami had created began to clear.

Tea's head snapped up. Then that meant...

"Yugi!" she exclaimed. She grabbed up her sword and emergency gun and leapt off the roof. She had to see him. She had to know if what she believed would happen was true.

She hoped she had been right. Because if she wasn't, Yugi was dead too.

END CHAPTER

* * *

Toli: Ha! A cliffie! And Yami's death! Man, I am truly _evil_!

Mena: SUGARSUGARSUGARSUGAR-

Jesselda: (bangs Mena over the head with a frying pan)

Mena: SU-eh? (passes out)

Jesselda: Now, where will I put you?

Toli: Oh, before we go, if you all would be so kind, rate the fight scene from 1(bad) to 10(perfect), please? Thanks a bunches.


End file.
